un·com·mon·ly /ʌn'kɒmənli il-'kɑ:-/ adv fml very; unusually:
That's uncommonly kind of you.
un·com·mu·ni·ca·tive /ˌʌnkə'mju:nɪkətɪv il-keit-/ adj not
willing to talk much or give information
un·com·pro·mis·ing /ʌn'kɒmprəmaɪzɪŋ il-'kɑ:m-/ adj
refusing to change one's ideas or decisions; not prepared to
COMPROMISE: uncompromising attitudes/beliefs --ly adv
un·con·cerned /ˌʌnkən'sɜ:nd il-ɜ:r-/ adj 1 [(about)] not wor-
ried or anxious, especially when one perhaps should be: She
seemed quite unconcerned about the risks she was tak-
ing. 2 [F(with)] not interested or taking part: She is uncon-
cerned with school affairs. --ly /ˌʌnkən'sɜ:ndli il-ɜ:r-/ adv
un·con·di·tion·al /ˌʌnkən'dɪʃənəl/ adj not limited by any
conditions: The victorious army demanded unconditional
surrender. --ly adv
un·con·firmed /ˌʌnkən'fɜ:md il-ɜ:r-/ adj without official
support: We've received unconfirmed reports of an explosion
in Central London.
un·con·scion·a·ble /ʌn'kɒnʃənəbəl il-'kɑ:n-/ adj fml unrea-
sonable in degree or amount: He was absent an unconscion-
able time. (=too long) --bly adv
un·con·scious¹ /ʌn'kɒnʃəs il-'kɑ:n-/ adj 1 having lost con-
sciousness: She hit her head and was unconscious for several
minutes. | He was knocked unconscious by a falling
rock. 2 [F+of] not knowing about something; UNAWARE: He
was quite unconscious of having offended them. 3 not inten-
tional: unconscious neglect of a serious problem -> see CON-
SCIOUS (USAGE) --ly adv --ness n [U] in a state of
unconsciousness
unconscious² n [the S] the SUBCONSCIOUS
un·con·sid·ered /ˌʌnkən'sɪdəd il-ərd/ adj 1 not care-
fully thought out: an unconsidered action 2 fml disregarded;
unnoticed: a few unconsidered objects left lying about
un·con·sti·tu·tion·al /ˌʌnkɒnstɪ'tju:ʃənəl il-kˌɑ:nstɪ'tu:-/
adj not in agreement with the principles of a CONSTITUTION,
especially that of the US: The Supreme Court ruled that the
decision of the lower court was unconstitutional. -> see Cul-
tural Note at CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES --ity
/ˌʌnknstɪ'tju:ʃə'nælɪti il-kˌɑ:nstɪ'tu:-/ n [U]
un·con·test·ed /ˌʌnkən'testɪd/ adj 1 an uncontested
action or statement is one that no one opposes or disagrees
with: After an uncontested divorce, Peggy married Char-
lie. 2 an uncontested election is one in which only one
person wants to be elected
un·con·ven·tion·al /ˌʌnkən'venʃənəl/ adj. very different
from the way people usually behave, think, dress etc: uncon-
ventional political views
un·con·vinc·ing /ˌʌnkən'vɪnsɪŋ/ adj not easy to believe or
accept: an unconvincing excuse | I found his argument uncon-
vincing. --ly adv
un·co·or·di·na·ted /ˌʌnkəʊ'ɔ:dɪneɪtɪd il-'ɔ:r-/ adj having
no working relationship between two or more parts (e.g. of
the body, a business etc): I'm too uncoordinated to play the
piano. | The timescale of this plan is totally uncoordinated.
un·cork /ʌn'kɔ:k il-ɔ:rk/ v [T] to open (especially a bottle or
barrel) by removing the CORK
un·count·a·ble /ʌn'kaʊntəbəl/ adj that cannot be counted.
Uncountable nouns are marked [U] in this dictionary: 'Is
'furniture' countable or uncountable?' 'It's uncountable; you
can't say "two furnitures"!' -> compare COUNT NOUN
un·coup·le /ʌn'kʌpə/ v [T] to separate (especially joined
railway carriages); free from a fastening
un·couth /ʌn'ku:θ/ adj not having good manners; awkward
or impolite in speech and behaviour: an uncouth young man
--ly adv --ness n [U]
un·cov·er /ʌn'kʌvər/ v [T] 1 to remove a covering from: In
spring we uncover the swimming pool. 2 to find out (some-
thing unknown or kept secret); discover: The police have
uncovered a plot to rob this bank.
un·crit·i·cal /ʌn'krɪtɪkəl/ adj [(of)] not making or showing
any judgments; (unwisely) accepting, without deciding if
good or bad: She is quite uncritical of his behaviour. | He has
rather an uncritical eye for paintings. --cally /kli/ adv
un·crowned king /ˌʌnkraʊnd 'kɪŋ/, uncrowned
queen fem. — n [the+Sof] the person generally considered
to be the best, most famous etc, in a particular activity:
Martina Navratilova, the uncrowned queen of women's tennis
in the 1980s
un·crush·a·ble /ʌn'krʌʃəbəl/ adj 1 (of materials and cloth)
staying smooth and not forming unwanted folds 2 especially
lit (of a person, a person's will etc) that will not admit defeat:
her uncrushable spirit
unc·tu·ous /'ʌŋktʃuəs/ adj fml full of unpleasantly insincere
kindness, interest etc: unctuous praise --ly adv --ness n
[U]
un·cut /ˌʌn'kʌt / adj 1 (of a film or story) not made shorter,
e.g. by having violent or sexually improper scenes removed:
the uncut version of 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' 2 (of a dia-
mond or other precious stone) not shaped and formed for
wearing, use in jewellery etc
un·daunt·ed /ʌn'd:ntɪd/ adj [(by)] not at all discouraged or
frightened by danger or difficulty -> see also DAUNT
un·de·ceive /ˌʌndɪ'si:v/ v [T] fml to inform (someone) of the
truth, especially when they are mistaken: She thought he was
a famous film director, but I had to undeceive her.
un·de·cid·ed /ˌʌndɪ'saɪdɪd/ adj 1 [F[about, as to]] having not
made a firm decision; in doubt: About a third of the voters
are still undecided as to how they will vote. | [+wh-] I'm
undecided whether to go to France or Italy for my holi-
days. 2 without a result; not settled: The match was left
undecided. --ly adv --ness n [U]
un·de·mon·stra·tive /ˌʌndɪ'mɒnstrətɪv il-'ma:n-/ adj not
showing one's feelings: an undemonstrative father/audience
--ly adv
un·de·ni·a·ble /ˌʌndɪ'naɪərəbəl / adj clear and certain: His
ability is undeniable. | It's undeniable that she is the best
person for the job. --bly adv
un·der¹ /'ʌndə/ prep 1 in or to a lower place than; directly
below; covered by: The box is under the table. | Can you
breathe under water? | We sheltered under the tree. (=covered
by its branches) | The insect crept under the door. | A village
under (=at the base of) the hill | What are you wearing under
your coat? 2 less than: It costs under £5. | a temperature (of)
under 30° | Children under (=younger than) 14 cannot see this
film. -> opposite OVER; compare BELOW 3 working for;
controlled by: She has three secretaries under her. -> opposite
OVER 4 during the rule of: Spain under Franco 5 in the
class of: Iron is listed under 'Metals' in the index. | I think this
problem comes under the heading of industrial dis-
eases. 6 according to: Under the terms of the agreement, you
have to pay a weekly rent. | He was detained under the
Prevention of Terrorism Act. 7 experiencing the effects of:
The hospital is under threat of closure. (=is threatened with
being closed) | They took this decision under pressure from the
unions. | We had to work under great difficulties. | I was under
the impression (=I believed, perhaps wrongly) that the exams
started on Monday. 8 in or into a state of: At last we brought
the fire under control. | The patient is under an anaes-
thetic. 9 in the process of: The matter is still under review/
under discussion. 10 under way a) moving: You can't use
the toilets till the train is under way. b) happening now; in
PROGRESS: Plans are under way for a big celebration.
Compare under, beneath, underneath, and
below. 1 Under is the most common word when one
thing is directly below another thing, or covered by it:
under the bed | under the blanket. Beneath can also be
used in this way, but may suggest that the two objects
are not close to each other. The submarine waited, far
beneath the ship. Beneath is also used in poetic or
literary writing: They strolled together beneath the
summer moon. 2 Under (opposite over) is used when
there is movement from one side to another: The
crawled under the fence. Underneath is used instead of
under, a to give more force to the idea of covering,
touching, or hiding: The letter had been pushed
underneath the carpet by accident. | The old mine goes
right underneath the city b at the end of a sentence: She
wore a red coat with a blue dress underneath. 3 Below
(opposite above) suggests only that one thing is in a
lower position than another: There is a lake below the
valley, further down the valley. -> see also ABOVE (USAGE)
under² adv 1 in or to a lower place; directly below -> see