unless

un·less

U u

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [uhn-les, uh n-]
- /ʌnˈlɛs, ən-/
- /ənˈles/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [uhn-les, uh n-]
- /ʌnˈlɛs, ən-/

Definitions of unless word

preposition unless except; but; save: Nothing will come of it, unless disaster. 1
noun unless except that 1
conjunction unless You use unless to introduce the only circumstances in which an event you are mentioning will not take place or in which a statement you are making is not true. 0
conjunction unless except under the circumstances that; except on the condition that 0
preposition unless except 0
conjunction unless in any case other than that; except that; except if 0

See all 8 definitions of unless

Information block about the term

Origin of unless

First appearance:

before 1400

One of the 24% oldest English words

1400-50; late ME prepositional phrase on less (also o less(e), earlier upon less) on a lesser footing or condition (than); first used as a preposition and conjunction in the early 16th century; see on, less

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Unless

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Unless

unless popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 90% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

unless usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for unless

conjunction unless

except — Specify as not included in a category or group; exclude.
without — with the absence, omission, or avoidance of; not with; with no or none of; lacking: without help; without shoes; without her helping me; without him to help.

All 2 Synonyms of unless