unilateral
[yoo-nuh-lat-er-uh l]
- relating to, occurring on, or involving one side only: unilateral development; a unilateral approach.
- undertaken or done by or on behalf of one side, party, or faction only; not mutual: a unilateral decision; unilateral disarmament.
- having only one side or surface; without a reverse side or inside, as a Möbius strip.
- Law.
- pertaining to a contract that can be formed only when the party to whom an offer is made renders the performance for which the offeror bargains.
- pertaining to a contract in which obligation rests on only one party, as a binding promise to make a gift.
- Botany. having all the parts disposed on one side of an axis, as an inflorescence.
- through forebears of one sex only, as through either the mother's or father's line.Compare bilateral(def 5).
- Phonetics. (of an l-sound) characterized by passage of air on only one side of the tongue.
Show More
Origin of unilateral
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for unilaterally
Contemporary Examples
But that was so yesterday, much like his contention that he lacked the power to unilaterally confer amnesty.
And neither he, nor his secret police squad or some lawyer from Detroit, get to change that unilaterally on a whim.
There are, of course, limits to what Obama can do unilaterally.
In 2012 for example, Gates warned publicly in a speech that it would be disastrous if Israel were to unilaterally strike Iran .
Henry Ford, founder, chief executive officer, and dictator of the Ford Motor Company, unilaterally raised—doubled!
Historical Examples
Such aid is not an act of war, even if a dictator should unilaterally proclaim it so to be.
State of the Union Addresses of Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Valve turgid in the middle and at the apices which are unilaterally truncate.
The Diatomaceae of Philadelphia and VicinityCharles Sumner Boyer
unilateral
- of, having, affecting, or occurring on only one side
- involving or performed by only one party of severalunilateral disarmament
- law (of contracts, obligations, etc) made by, affecting, or binding one party only and not involving the other party in reciprocal obligations
- botany having or designating parts situated or turned to one side of an axis
- sociol relating to or tracing the line of descent through ancestors of one sex onlyCompare bilateral (def. 5)
- phonetics denoting an (l) sound produced on one side of the tongue only
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for unilaterally
unilateral
adj.
1802, from Modern Latin unilateralis, from unum, neuter of unus "one" (see one) + latus (genitive lateralis) "side" (see oblate (n.)). Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) may have been the first to use it in the legal sense of "made or entered into by one party." Unilateral disarmament is recorded from 1929.
It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism, while the wolf remains of a different opinion. [William Ralph Inge, "Outspoken Essays," 1919]
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
unilateral
(yōō′nə-lăt′ər-əl)- On, having, or confined to only one side.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.