unity

American  

[yoo-ni-tee] / ˈyu nɪ ti /

noun

plural

unities

1. the state of being one; oneness.

   Synonyms:

   individuality, singularity, singleness

   Antonyms:

   variety, diversity

2. a whole or totality as combining all its parts into one.

3. the state or fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole; unification.

4. absence of diversity; unvaried or uniform character.

5. oneness of mind, feeling, etc., as among a number of persons; concord, harmony, or agreement.

   Synonyms:

   unison, concert

6. Mathematics.

   1. the number one; a quantity regarded as one.

   2. identity.

7. (in literature and art) a relation of all the parts or elements of a work constituting a harmonious whole and producing a single general effect.

8. one of the three principles of dramatic structure the three unities derived from Aristotelian aesthetics and formalized in the neoclassic canon in which a play is required to represent action as taking place in one day unity of time, as occurring within one place unity of place, and as having a single plot with a beginning, middle, and end unity of action.

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unity British  

/ ˈjuːnɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being one; oneness

2. the act, state, or quality of forming a whole from separate parts

3. something whole or complete that is composed of separate parts

4. mutual agreement; harmony or concord

   the participants were no longer in unity

5. uniformity or constancy

   unity of purpose

6. maths

   1. the number or numeral one

   2. a quantity assuming the value of one

      the area of the triangle was regarded as unity

   3. the element of a set producing no change in a number following multiplication

7. the arrangement of the elements in a work of art in accordance with a single overall design or purpose

8. any one of the three principles of dramatic structure deriving from Aristotle's Poetics by which the action of a play should be limited to a single plot (unity of action), a single location (unity of place), and the events of a single day (unity of time)

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Related Words

See union.

Other Word Forms

• nonunity noun
• self-unity noun
• superunity noun

Etymology

Origin of unity

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English unite, from Old French, from Latin ūnitās, from ūn(us) one + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

What are the biggest risks to trans-Atlantic unity posed by economic disputes between the U.S. and Europe?

From The Wall Street Journal

Justin Welby devoted huge amounts of time and energy to preserving the unity of the worldwide Anglican communion, but that battle may be over before his successor even takes office.

From BBC

The New York Times described Coolidge’s speech as a call for unity in a time of “factional strife.”

From The Wall Street Journal

"Urgency and unity is what we need," he said, calling for bipartisan support for "creating an aggravated offence for hate preaching" and other new laws.

From Barron's

Candace Owens’ name surfaced repeatedly and rather viciously in a speech given by actor Rob Schneider, often as a point of tension rather than unity.

From Salon

Related Words

• agreement
• consensus
• harmony
• identity
• integrity
• peace
• solidarity
• unanimity
• unification