unimproved

[uhn-im-proovd]

See more synonyms for unimproved on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not developed to full potential, as resources or the mind.
not showing improvement, as one's health, appearance, etc.
(of land) not fitted for a profitable use, as by clearing, cultivation, addition of facilities for dwelling or business purposes, or the like.

not used to advantage; neglected: an unimproved opportunity.
(of animal or plant species) not made more useful or attractive by selective breeding or cultivation.
not enhanced; not increased: Our chance of success is unimproved.

Origin of unimproved

1655–65; un-¹ + improved

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for unimproved

unchanged, undeveloped, unaltered, unrestored

Examples from the Web for unimproved

Historical Examples of unimproved

The landscape in the vicinity was unimproved, but not rural.
Urban Sketches
Bret Harte
As the days passed he could see plainly that she was unimproved.
Nancy McVeigh of the Monk Road
R. Henry Mainer
The Justices do not understand the taxation of unimproved land.
The Agrarian Problem in the Sixteenth Century
Richard Henry Tawney
At 78 m. is the junction with an unimproved country dirt road.
North Dakota
Various
There are also 200 miles of unimproved roads known as “feeders.”
The Church on the Changing Frontier
Helen O. Belknap

British Dictionary definitions for unimproved

unimproved

adjective

not improved or made better
(of land) not cleared, drained, cultivated, etc
neglected; unusedunimproved resources

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 unimproved

adj.

1660s, "not made better," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of improve. Sense of "not developed or taken advantage of" (of land) is recorded from 1781.