unrequited
Americanadjective
-
not returned or reciprocated.
unrequited love.
-
not avenged or retaliated.
an unrequited wrong.
-
not repaid or satisfied.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of unrequited
Explanation
Unrequited is used almost exclusively in the context of romantic love. If you love someone and they don't love you back––that, my friend, is a case of unrequited love. Unrequited love is so painful, most people feel they are the first person in history to experience it, but the word unrequited has in fact been around since the 1520s, when it was invented, like many good words, to talk about money. It derived from re- 'back' + the Middle English quite 'pay up.'
Vocabulary lists containing unrequited
Dissed List: Breakup Words for Valentine's Day
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100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
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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.
Eyes tear up when unrequited love leads to isolation or forbidden love leads to death.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
“I see it more as a situation of unrequited love,” said Alvin Velazquez, an associate law professor at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and an expert on Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy in 2017.
From Salon ● May 6, 2026
Before our interview, she plays me a new song called Deep End – a saga of unrequited love which, amongst other things, reveals she learned how to kiss from a YouTube video.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
This is something far more daffy and useless: The brouhaha over unrequited affections between Seattle Mariners at the World Baseball Classic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
While Theo moved on from her rejection of him, she has been suffering from her own unrequited love.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
