unused

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ʌnˈjuzd/ UK /ʌnˈjuːzd/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
not having been used; not accustomed to

The unused tickets still sat in the drawer months after the show.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not having been used; not... new fresh untouched pristine unaccustomed unfamiliar

Opposites

used accustomed spent familiar

Word family

Related forms use usable disused

Etymology

From un- ('not') plus used, the past participle of use, from Old French user, from Vulgar Latin *usare, frequentative of Latin uti ('to use').

un- Old English uti Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# unused

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ʌnˈjuzd
**IPA (UK):** ʌnˈjuːzd

## Meanings
1. not having been used; not accustomed to

## Examples
- The unused tickets still sat in the drawer months after the show.

## Synonyms
- new
- fresh
- untouched
- pristine
- unaccustomed
- unfamiliar

## Antonyms
- used
- accustomed
- spent
- familiar

## Related Forms
- use
- usable
- disused

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: uti

## Etymology
From un- ('not') plus used, the past participle of use, from Old French user, from Vulgar Latin *usare, frequentative of Latin uti ('to use').

## AI Etymology
Unused comes from un- ('not') plus used, the past participle of use, from Old French user, from Vulgar Latin *usare, frequentative of Latin uti ('to use'). In current use it is an adjective meaning "not having been used; not accustomed to". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The prefix un- is negative or privative, marking the absence, denial, or opposite of the base idea. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. A frequentative element in the history points to repeated, habitual, or intensified action. The historical chain includes Old English un- and Latin uti. Related English forms include use, usable, and disused. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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