unrelated
Britishadjective
-
not connected or associated
an unrelated incident
-
not connected by kinship or marriage
Explanation
Unrelated is a good way to describe things that aren't connected or linked in any way. You might insist that your dented car bumper is unrelated to your neighbor's smashed mailbox. Things that have no connection are unrelated: your excellent test grade is unrelated to the shoes your wore on the day you took it, and your inability remember the name of the movie you just watched is unrelated to the fact that the sun is shining. You can also describe two people who aren't in the same family as unrelated. The Latin root is relatus, a past participle of referre, "bring back."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
State police joined him each time, costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for trips unrelated to his job as attorney general.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The conference was arranged in June and organisers said it was "unrelated to the recent death of an employee of the anti-plague institute".
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Police say an investigation is underway and that Ballard is in Japanese custody because the alleged crime was unrelated to official military duties.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
When the researchers applied Orion to all five conditions, they found that genetic changes that initially looked largely unrelated could connect to the same regulatory networks.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
“A change at one point, in one molecule even, may reverberate throughout the entire system to initiate changes in seemingly unrelated organs and tissues,” says a recent summary of the present status of medical research.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
