unrequited

[uhn-ri-kwahy-tid]

See more synonyms for unrequited on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not returned or reciprocated: unrequited love.
not avenged or retaliated: an unrequited wrong.
not repaid or satisfied.

Origin of unrequited

First recorded in 1535–45; un-¹ + requite + -ed²

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

Examples from the Web for unrequited

Contemporary Examples

The convent, obviously, but also the court—and even her unrequited longing for the elusive lady of her sonnets.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun
Katie Baker
November 8, 2014
To see two girls kissing on screen, singing about unrequited love between two women?
t.A.T.u’s ‘All the Things She Said’ Turns 10
Tricia Romano
August 12, 2013
It was unrequited love … They dated for a while, but she was not for him.
L.A. Policewoman on Trial for Murdering Her Ex’s Wife
Christine Pelisek
March 8, 2012
“It was not just an obsession, a one-sided romance of unrequited love,” said Overland.
L.A. Policewoman on Trial for Murdering Her Ex’s Wife
Christine Pelisek
March 8, 2012
And of course I loved the Lancelot story because it is all about longing and unrequited love.
Only Six Books: Excerpt From Jeanette Winterson’s New Memoir
Jeanette Winterson
March 7, 2012

Historical Examples

This sonata is a true drama of life, a story of unrequited passion.
The Pianolist
Gustav Kobb
Unrequited love is far less hard to bear when it meets with sympathy.
The Quadroon
Mayne Reid
The despair of unrequited love was thrice intensified by jealousy.
Robert Orange
John Oliver Hobbes
Why suffer, as he was suffering, all the agonies of burning, unrequited love.
Colorado Jim
George Goodchild
It was the most undeserved, unrequited honour of my life that he would have had it so.
Hopes and Fears
Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for unrequited

unrequited

adjective

(of love, affection, etc) not reciprocated or returned

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 unrequited

adj.

1540s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of requite.

unrequited

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}unrequited

Examples from the Web for unrequited

Contemporary Examples

The convent, obviously, but also the court—and even her unrequited longing for the elusive lady of her sonnets.

To see two girls kissing on screen, singing about unrequited love between two women?

It was unrequited love … They dated for a while, but she was not for him.

“It was not just an obsession, a one-sided romance of unrequited love,” said Overland.

And of course I loved the Lancelot story because it is all about longing and unrequited love.

Historical Examples

This sonata is a true drama of life, a story of unrequited passion.

Unrequited love is far less hard to bear when it meets with sympathy.

The despair of unrequited love was thrice intensified by jealousy.

Why suffer, as he was suffering, all the agonies of burning, unrequited love.

It was the most undeserved, unrequited honour of my life that he would have had it so.

unrequited

Word Origin and History for unrequited

adj.

Origin of unrequited