un-

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Pronunciation

• (RP, America, Canada) IPA: /ʌn/
• (Australia) IPA: /an/

Etymology 1

From Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.

Prefix

1. (added to adjectives or past participles) not

2. (added to nouns) lack of

3. (added to nouns) contrary to traditional norms; unconventional

Synonyms

• (not) a-, an-, dys-, i-/il-/im-/in-/ir-, mal-, non-

Translations

• French: in-, mal, non-
• German: un-
• Italian: in-
• Portuguese: in-
• Russian: не-
• Spanish: in-

Translations

• French: in-, non-
• German: un-
• Portuguese: in-, des-
• Russian: без-
• Spanish: in-

Translations

• French: anti-, in-, non-
• German: un-
• Portuguese: in-, anti-, não-
• Russian: не-
• Spanish: in-

Etymology 2

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, from *h₂énts ("end, limit, forehead").

Prefix

1. (added to verbs) the inverse of a specified action

2. (added to nouns to form verbs) deprive of, release from, free from, remove from, extract from

3. (rare) intensifying a verb that already suggests opposition or removal

Synonyms

• (opposite) anti-, in-, non-
• (release) de-, dis-, off-

Translations

• French: dé-, dés-
• German: ent-
• Italian: s-
• Portuguese: des-
• Spanish: des-

Etymology 3

From Latin ūnus.

Prefix

1. Used for the digit one to form temporary 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. Used to form large numbers as the first in the sequence.

Synonyms

• -un-

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