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definitions

unspoken

[uhn-spoh-kuh n]
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adjective

implied or understood without being spoken or uttered.
not addressed (usually followed by to).
not talking; silent.

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RELATED WORDS

implied, implicit, tacit, inarticulate, mute, silent, understood, unexpressed, unsaid, inferred, intimated, invoiced, unstated

Origin of unspoken

First recorded in 1325–75, unspoken is from the Middle English word unspokyn. See un-1, spoken

unspeak

[uhn-speek]

verb (used with object), un·spoke, un·spo·ken, un·speak·ing. Obsolete.

to recant; unsay.

Origin of unspeak

First recorded in 1595–1605; un-2 + speak
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unspoken

Contemporary Examples of unspoken

Historical Examples of unspoken

  • When this room had last been lighted, the parable of the Virgins of the Lamps was yet unspoken.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

  • And a second time he nodded acquiescence to his unspoken thought.

    The Fortune Hunter

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • "I don't understand this," said Greer, in answer to Madden's unspoken perplexity.

  • A rattle of firearms far off on the other side of the river left it unspoken.

    The Law-Breakers

    Ridgwell Cullum

  • She paused, and Wrayson, without hesitation, answered her unspoken question.

    The Avenger

    E. Phillips Oppenheim

British Dictionary definitions for unspoken

unspoken

adjective

understood without needing to be spoken; tacit
not uttered aloud

unspeak

verb -speaks, -speaking, -spoke or -spoken

an obsolete word for unsay
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 unspoken
adj.

late 14c., from un- (1) "not" + past participle of speak. Cf. Middle Dutch ongesproken, Middle Low German ungesproken.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper