Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

un- en · X · etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /an/ (Australia)
  • /ʌn/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Cognate with Scots un-, on- (“un-”), North Frisian ün-, Saterland Frisian uun-, West Frisian ûn-, on-, Dutch on-, Low German un-, on-, German un-, Danish u-, Swedish o-, Norwegian u-, Icelandic ó-. More distant cognate with Latin in-, Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (whence English a-, modern Greek α- (a-)) and Sanskrit अ- (a-). Doublet of in- and a-.

Meanings

  1. (added to adjectives or past participles, morpheme) not
    • un- + educated → uneducated (“not educated”)
  2. (added to nouns, morpheme) lack of
    • un- + conformity → unconformity (“lack of conformity”)
  3. (added to nouns, morpheme) contrary to traditional norms; unconventional
    • un- + conference → unconference

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
on- alternative lexicographic

Synonyms

mal- (not) · i- (not) · in- (not) · an- (not) · a- (not) · non- (not) · dys- (not) · il- (not) · ir- (not) · im- (not)

Translations (151)

grc ἀ- (denoting absence) · gd mì- (denoting absence) · gl anti- (violative of; contrary to) · sv van- (denoting absence) · pl nie- (denoting absence) · gd neo- (denoting a lack of) · gd do- (denoting absence) · bg не- (violative of; contrary to) · ko 무- (denoting a lack of) · lb on- (denoting absence) · de un- (denoting absence) · dsb nje- (violative of; contrary to) · gd mì- (denoting a lack of) · gd do- (denoting a lack of) · fr non- (denoting absence) · gd an- (violative of; contrary to) · bg не- (denoting absence) · eo sen- (denoting absence) · eo ne- (denoting a lack of) · jv ora (violative of; contrary to) · dsb nje- (denoting absence) · ca in- (violative of; contrary to) · hu -telen (denoting a lack of) · id tan- (denoting absence) · ja 不- (violative of; contrary to) · nl on- (denoting absence) · sq nuk ka (denoting absence) · gd eu- (denoting a lack of) · gl in- (denoting a lack of) · ka უ- (denoting a lack of) · af on- (violative of; contrary to) · ru не- (denoting absence) · hy ան- (denoting absence) · nl on- (violative of; contrary to) · fi -ton (denoting a lack of) · ru без- (denoting a lack of) · ru бес- (denoting a lack of) · ca in- (denoting absence) · ro ne- (denoting absence) · sv o- (denoting a lack of) · hy հակա- (violative of; contrary to) · fa ناـ (violative of; contrary to) · eo sen- (denoting a lack of) · hu -tlen (denoting a lack of) · gd ao- (denoting a lack of) · tl di- (denoting absence) · sq pa- (violative of; contrary to) · hu -etlen (denoting a lack of) · is ó- (denoting a lack of) · es in- (violative of; contrary to) · ja 反- (violative of; contrary to) · fi epä- (denoting a lack of) · es poco (denoting absence) · pl bez- (denoting a lack of) · az na- (violative of; contrary to) · gd ao- (denoting absence) · be мала- (denoting absence) · hy տ- (denoting absence) · ko 불- (violative of; contrary to) · el αντι- (violative of; contrary to) · pt in- (violative of; contrary to) · eo mal- (denoting absence) · cmn(violative of; contrary to) · fi -ton (denoting absence) · ka უ- -ო (denoting absence) · non ú- (denoting absence) · hy չ- (denoting absence) · ru не- (violative of; contrary to) · hy ան- (denoting a lack of) · eo mal- (denoting a lack of) · gd eu- (denoting absence) · hu -tlan (denoting a lack of) · be не- (violative of; contrary to) · fo ó- (denoting absence) · ro i- (denoting absence) · hu -atlan (denoting a lack of) · fr in- (violative of; contrary to) · pt anti- (violative of; contrary to) · sh не- (violative of; contrary to) · ja 無- (violative of; contrary to) · gd an- (denoting absence) · ru не- (denoting a lack of) · fa بیـ (denoting absence) · dsb nje- (denoting a lack of) · fr anti- (violative of; contrary to) · tl di- (denoting a lack of) · da u- (violative of; contrary to) · sk ne- (violative of; contrary to) · pam e- (violative of; contrary to) · mk не- (violative of; contrary to) · pl nie- (violative of; contrary to) · gd neo- (denoting absence) · pam e- (denoting absence) · gl in- (denoting absence) · es in- (denoting a lack of) · pam emi- (denoting a lack of) · sl ne- (violative of; contrary to) · hy չ- (denoting a lack of) · el α- (denoting absence) · eo mal- (violative of; contrary to) · pl nie- (denoting a lack of) · es nada (denoting absence) · non ó- (denoting absence) · cmn 不- (denoting absence) · fr in- (denoting a lack of) · pam emiki- (denoting a lack of) · fa بی (denoting absence) · lo ບໍ່- (violative of; contrary to) · hu -talan (denoting a lack of) · sh ne- (violative of; contrary to) · bn অ- (violative of; contrary to) · no u- (denoting absence) · pt in- (denoting a lack of) · gd mì- (violative of; contrary to) · fo ó- (denoting a lack of) · af on- (denoting absence) · cmn 無 /无 (violative of; contrary to) · la in- (denoting absence) · eu -a (violative of; contrary to) · sv o- (violative of; contrary to) · sv anti- (violative of; contrary to) · bg не- (denoting a lack of) · pon sou- (denoting absence) · pt in- (denoting absence) · fr in- (denoting absence) · fi epä- (violative of; contrary to) · pt des- (denoting a lack of) · hy դժ- (denoting a lack of) · de un- (denoting a lack of) · pt não- (violative of; contrary to) · hy դժ- (denoting absence) · ko 반- (violative of; contrary to) · ca in- (denoting a lack of) · de un- (violative of; contrary to) · it in- (denoting absence) · ka უ- (denoting absence) · fr non- (denoting a lack of) · hy տ- (denoting a lack of) · el α- (denoting a lack of) · uk не- (violative of; contrary to) · eo ne- (denoting absence) · fr non- (violative of; contrary to) · is ó- (violative of; contrary to) · ka არა- (denoting absence) · cs ne- (violative of; contrary to) · es in- (denoting absence) · is ó- (denoting absence) · fr sans (denoting a lack of) · pam emika- (denoting a lack of) · sv o- (denoting absence) · fr mal (denoting absence)

Source: en.wiktionary, “un-” (prefix), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

un- en · X · etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /an/ (Australia)
  • /ʌn/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English on-, from Old English on-, ond-, and- (“against, facing, toward; in return, back, without”), from Proto-West Germanic *anda-, from Proto-Germanic *anda-, *andi- (“against”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti (“across, forth, forward, ahead”), from *h₂énts (“end, limit, forehead”). In some cases the meaning is influenced by un- (“not”, etymology 1).

Meanings

  1. (added to verbs, morpheme) the inverse of a specified action
    • Un-cry these tears I cried so many nights Un-break my heart 1996, “Un-Break My Heart”, in Secrets, performed by Toni Braxton:
    • A prefix is an affix that joins to the beginning of another word. Depending on the prefix, it can slightly or significantly alter the meaning of a word. For example, the English prefix “un-” changes a word into its opposite, as from “do” to “undo,” altering its meaning entirely. 2020 March 14, Lindsay del Valle, “36 Spanish Prefixes That Will Increase Your Vocabulary Times 100!”, in Homeschool Spanish Academy:
    • un- + dress → undress (“to take one's clothes off”)
    • un- + lock → unlock (“to undo the locking of”)
  2. (added to nouns to form verbs, morpheme) deprive of, release from, free from, remove from, extract from
    • un- + cage → uncage (“to release from a cage”)
    • un- + tangle → untangle (“to remove the tangling of”)
  3. (morpheme, rare) intensifying a verb that already suggests opposition or removal
    • un- + thaw → unthaw
    • un- + loosen → unloosen
    • un- + decipher → undecipher

Synonyms

anti- (opposite) · off- (release) · dis- (release) · de- (release) · in- (opposite) · non- (opposite)

Translations (17)

sv av- (reversal or cancellation) · is af- (reversal or cancellation) · eo mal- (reversal or cancellation) · nb opp (reversal or cancellation) · hy ապ- (reversal or cancellation) · de ent- (reversal or cancellation) · nb unn- (reversal or cancellation) · fr dés- (reversal or cancellation) · nb av- (reversal or cancellation) · pt des- (reversal or cancellation) · nl ont- (reversal or cancellation) · fr dé- (reversal or cancellation) · es des- (reversal or cancellation) · it s- (reversal or cancellation) · el απο- (reversal or cancellation) · pl od- (reversal or cancellation) · gl des- (reversal or cancellation)

Source: en.wiktionary, “un-” (prefix), dump 20260902, contributors via the page history. Text licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

un- en · X · etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /an/ (Australia)
  • /ʌn/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Italic *oinos Old Latin oinos Latin ūnusbor. English un- Borrowed from Latin ūnus.

Meanings

  1. (morpheme) Used for the digit one to form systematic element names of elements whose existence has been predicted, and which have not yet been given a trivial name.
    • un- (“1”) + bi- (“2”) + un- (“1”) + -ium (element suffix) → unbiunium (“element 121”)
  2. (morpheme) Used to form large numbers as the first in the sequence.
    • un- + vigintillion (“10⁶³”) → unvigintillion (“10⁶⁶”)
    • un- + decillion (“10³³”) → undecillion (“10³⁶”)