Meanings
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1
adj
having zero acceleration in a specified inertial frame; remaining at rest or moving with an unchanging velocity vector
In an inertial frame, an unaccelerated spacecraft follows a straight path at constant velocity.
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2
adj
in relativity, having zero proper acceleration because no nongravitational force is felt, as for an ideal freely falling body
An astronaut in free fall is unaccelerated in the proper sense because an onboard accelerometer reads zero.
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3
adj
not made to happen, develop, or proceed faster than its ordinary rate
The unaccelerated curing process took the full twenty-four hours.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Formed from un- ("not") + accelerated, the past participle of accelerate. Accelerate comes from Latin accelerare ("to hasten"), from ad- + celer ("swift"). Physics sharpened the negative form: an unaccelerated motion has an unchanging velocity vector in an inertial frame, while general relativity distinguishes proper from coordinate acceleration.