unmarked

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ʌnˈmɑɹkt/ UK /ʌnˈmɑːkt/ See IPA manual

Freq #18085

Meanings

1

adj
bearing no identifying label, sign, number, or visible mark

An unmarked van waited across the street from the warehouse.
2

adj
free from spots, scratches, blemishes, or other visible damage

The table's polished surface remained unmarked after the move.
3

adj
not noticed, commemorated, recorded, or distinguished by anything notable

The quiet evening passed unmarked by any unusual event.
4

adj
in linguistics, lacking a special formal feature and functioning as the neutral or default member of a contrast

In English, the singular is often the unmarked number form.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · bearing no identifying... unlabeledunidentified anonymousunsigned

2 adj · free from spots, scratches,... unblemished spotless pristine

3 adj · not noticed, commemorated,... unnoticed unrecorded uneventful unacknowledged

4 adj · in linguistics, lacking a... default neutral

Opposites

marked labeled identifiedblemishednotable

Word family

Derived forms unmarkedness

Related forms mark marked markingmarkedness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

unmarked form
a linguistic expression that is ordinary in its context and carries no special stylistic effect

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Formed from un- + marked, the past participle of mark. Its literal senses negate a visible or identifying mark. In twentieth-century linguistics, unmarked became the term for the ordinary or default member of an opposition, contrasted with a specially marked form.

Topics

Describing Qualities Language & Linguistics Register & Style

External links

# unmarked

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ʌnˈmɑɹkt/
**IPA (UK):** /ʌnˈmɑːkt/
**Frequency rank:** 18085

## Meanings
1. bearing no identifying label, sign, number, or visible mark
2. free from spots, scratches, blemishes, or other visible damage
3. not noticed, commemorated, recorded, or distinguished by anything notable
4. in linguistics, lacking a special formal feature and functioning as the neutral or default member of a contrast

## Examples
- An unmarked van waited across the street from the warehouse.
- The table's polished surface remained unmarked after the move.
- The quiet evening passed unmarked by any unusual event.
- In English, the singular is often the unmarked number form.

## Synonyms
- unlabeled
- unidentified
- anonymous
- unblemished
- spotless
- pristine
- unnoticed
- uneventful
- default
- neutral

## Antonyms
- marked
- labeled
- identified
- blemished
- notable

## Derived Forms
- unmarkedness

## Related Forms
- mark
- marked
- marking
- markedness

## Etymology
Formed from un- + marked, the past participle of mark. Its literal senses negate a visible or identifying mark. In twentieth-century linguistics, unmarked became the term for the ordinary or default member of an opposition, contrasted with a specially marked form.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Language & Linguistics
- Register & Style

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