Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Not the same in any measurable aspect, such as extent or quantity.
- adj. Not the same as another in rank or social position.
- adj. Consisting of ill-matched opponents: an unequal race.
- adj. Having unbalanced sides or parts; asymmetrical.
- adj. Not even or consistent; variable.
- adj. Not having the required abilities; inadequate: "It was maddening to be unequal to many enterprises” ( D.H. Lawrence).
- adj. Not fair. See Usage Note at equal.
- n. One that is not the equal of another.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Not equal; not of the same size, length, breadth, quantity, quality, strength, talents, age, station, etc.
- Inadequate; insufficient; inferior: as, his strength was unequal to the task.
- Not balanced or matched; disproportioned; one-sided; hence, inequitable; unfair; unjust; partial.
- Not equable; not uniform; irregular: as, unequal pulsations.
- Not having the two sides or the parts symmetrical: thus, an unequal leaf is one in which the parenchyma is not developed symmetrically on each side of the midrib or stalk. Also called oblique.
- In entomology, composed of parts or joints of different forms: as, unequal palpi or antennæ.
- n. One not equal to another in station, power, ability, age, or the like.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Not equal; not matched; not of the same size, length, breadth, quantity, strength, talents, acquirements, age, station, or the like.
- adj. Ill balanced or matched; disproportioned; hence, not equitable; partial; unjust; unfair.
- adj. Not uniform; not equable; irregular; uneven.
- adj. Not adequate or sufficient; inferior.
- adj. (Bot.) Not having the two sides or the parts symmetrical.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. poorly balanced or matched in quantity or value or measure
- adj. lacking the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task
Etymologies
- un- + equal (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Protesters object to corporate influence on politics and what they call an unequal distribution of wealth.”
The Huffington Post: Veteran Reportedly Shoots Self At Occupy Protest In Vermont
“It's what I call the unequal dialogue because the politicians ultimately have to be in charge.”
Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime
“To the abrupt drop of basic products, you have to add the reduced possibilities of buying manufactured products, which we call unequal trade, he stressed.”
“Historically too, what we know as unequal trade has prevailed, What does that mean?”
“Yet, in the several intervals between these periods, they have exhausted the powers of their rhetoric and the vehemence of their vindictive passions, in denouncing what they term the unequal asperities of the social and political surface.”
“Kathmandu: United CPN (Maoist) activists burnt copies of some Nepal-India treaties which they termed unequal, including the Sugauli Treaty, the 1950 Treaty of Friendship and the”
WN.com - Articles related to Assam militants cannot set up base again: Bhutan PM Thinley (Interview)
“Serious achievement gaps demonstrate that racially separate schools remain unequal across the United States, and school finance data confirms that high spending schools continue to outspend low-spending schools by at least three to one in most states.”
“Drug laws even today continue to result in unequal treatment between the economic classes.”
“An astonishing statistic, yet of a type we almost take for granted in unequal London.”
“If most men in the world think women are unequal, is it fact?”
Lists
‘unequal’ hasn't been added to any lists yet.
Tweets
Looking for tweets for unequal.
Comments
No comments yet...
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.