unrelated
Britishadjective
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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.
Couples and long-term housemates tend to have more alike gut microbiomes than unrelated individuals, even when their diets are not the same.
From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026
Marvell had also been weighed down by some traditional businesses unrelated to AI.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Bondi was fired for unrelated reasons on April 2.
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
This is understood to be unrelated to the investigation, and he is still in the Navy.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
Sociologists have frequently observed that governments use punishment primarily as a tool of social control, and thus the extent or severity of punishment is often unrelated to actual crime patterns.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
