Meanings
un-1
alternative on-
- lack of
un- + conformity → unconformity (“lack of conformity”)
- contrary to traditional norms; unconventional
un- + conference → unconference
un-2
- the inverse of a specified action
un- + lock → unlock (“to undo the locking of”)
3 more examples
un- + dress → undress (“to take one's clothes off”)
Un-cry these tears I cried so many nights Un-break my heart
1996, “Un-Break My Heart”, in Secrets, performed by Toni BraxtonA prefix is an affix that joins to the beginning of another word. Depending on the prefix, it can slightly or significantly alter the meaning of a word. For example, the English prefix “un-” changes a word into its opposite, as from “do” to “undo,” altering its meaning entirely.
2020 March 14, Lindsay del Valle, “36 Spanish Prefixes That Will Increase Your Vocabulary Times 100!”, in Homeschool Spanish Academy
un-3
- chemistryUsed for the digit one to form systematic element 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”)
- Used to form large numbers as the first in the sequence.
un- + decillion (“10³³”) → undecillion (“10³⁶”)
1 more example
un- + vigintillion (“10⁶³”) → unvigintillion (“10⁶⁶”)
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
un- · prefix
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
From Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic *un-, from Proto-Germanic *un-, from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-. Cognate with Scots un-, on- (“un-”), North Frisian ün-, Saterland Frisian uun-, West Frisian ûn-, on-, Dutch on-, Low German un-, on-, German un-, Danish u-, Swedish o-, Norwegian u-, Icelandic ó-. More distant cognate with Latin in-, Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) (whence English a-, modern Greek α- (a-)) and Sanskrit अ- (a-). Doublet of in- and a-.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →un- · prefix
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂énti“across, forth, forward, ahead”
- Proto-Germanic*anda-
- Proto-West Germanic*anda-
- Old Englishon-
- Middle Englishon-
- Englishun-
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 (“across, forth, forward, ahead”), from *h₂énts (“end, limit, forehead”). In some cases the meaning is influenced by un- (“not”, etymology 1).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →un- · prefix
- Proto-Indo-European*ís?
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
- Proto-Italic*oinos
- Old Latinoinos
- Latinūnus
- Englishun-
Borrowed from Latin ūnus.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans on-, on-
- on-denoting absence
- on-violative of; contrary to
Ancient Greek ἀ-
- ἀ- (a-)denoting absence
Basque -a
- -aviolative of; contrary to
Bengali অ-
- অ- (o-)violative of; contrary to
Bulgarian не-, не-
- не- (ne-)denoting a lack of
- не- (ne-)denoting absence
- не- (ne-)violative of; contrary to
Catalan in-, in-
- in-denoting a lack of
- in-denoting absence
- in-violative of; contrary to
Chinese Mandarin 不-, 不
- 不- (bù-)denoting absence
- 不 (bù)violative of; contrary to
- 無 /无 (wú)violative of; contrary to
Czech ne-
- ne-violative of; contrary to
Danish u-
- u-violative of; contrary to
Dutch on-, on-
- on-denoting absence
- on-violative of; contrary to
- ont-reversal or cancellation
Esperanto mal-, ne-
- mal-denoting a lack of
- ne-denoting a lack of
- sen-denoting a lack of
- mal-denoting absence
- ne-denoting absence
- sen-denoting absence
- mal-violative of; contrary to
- mal-reversal or cancellation
Finnish -ton, epä-
- -tondenoting a lack of
- epä-denoting a lack of
- -tondenoting absence
- epä-violative of; contrary to
French in-, non-
- in-denoting a lack of
- non-denoting a lack of
- sansdenoting a lack of
- in-denoting absence
- maldenoting absence
- non-denoting absence
- anti-violative of; contrary to
- in-violative of; contrary to
- non-violative of; contrary to
- dé-reversal or cancellation
- dés-reversal or cancellation
German un-, un-
- un-denoting a lack of
- un-denoting absence
- un-violative of; contrary to
- ent-reversal or cancellation
Greek α-, α-
- α- (a-)denoting a lack of
- α- (a-)denoting absence
- αντι- (anti-)violative of; contrary to
- απο- (apo-)reversal or cancellation
Hungarian -talan, -telen
- -talandenoting a lack of
- -telendenoting a lack of
- -atlandenoting a lack of
- -etlendenoting a lack of
- -tlandenoting a lack of
- -tlendenoting a lack of
Icelandic ó-, ó-
- ó-denoting a lack of
- ó-denoting absence
- ó-violative of; contrary to
- af-reversal or cancellation
Indonesian tan-
- tan-denoting absence
Italian in-, s-
- in-denoting absence
- s-reversal or cancellation
Japanese 不-, 反-
- 不- (fu)violative of; contrary to
- 反- (han)violative of; contrary to
- 無- (mu)violative of; contrary to
Korean 무-, 불-
- 무- (mu-)denoting a lack of
- 불- (bul-)violative of; contrary to
- 반- (ban-)violative of; contrary to
Latin in-
- in-denoting absence
Norwegian u-
- u-denoting absence
Norwegian Bokmål av-, unn-
- av-reversal or cancellation
- unn-reversal or cancellation
- oppreversal or cancellation
Persian بیـ, بی
- بیـdenoting absence
- بیdenoting absence
- ناـviolative of; contrary to
Polish bez-, nie-
- bez-denoting a lack of
- nie-denoting a lack of
- nie-denoting absence
- nie-violative of; contrary to
- od-reversal or cancellation
Portuguese in-, des-
- in-denoting a lack of
- des-denoting a lack of
- in-denoting absence
- in-violative of; contrary to
- anti-violative of; contrary to
- não-violative of; contrary to
- des-reversal or cancellation
Romanian ne-, i-
- ne-denoting absence
- i-denoting absence
Russian без-, бес-
- без- (bez-)denoting a lack of
- бес- (bes-)denoting a lack of
- не- (ne-)denoting a lack of
- не- (ne-)denoting absence
- не- (ne-)violative of; contrary to
Scottish Gaelic ao-, mì-
- ao-denoting a lack of
- mì-denoting a lack of
- neo-denoting a lack of
- eu-denoting a lack of
- do-denoting a lack of
- ao-denoting absence
- mì-denoting absence
- neo-denoting absence
- eu-denoting absence
- do-denoting absence
- an-denoting absence
- an-violative of; contrary to
Slovak ne-
- ne-violative of; contrary to
Spanish in-, in-
- in-denoting a lack of
- in-denoting absence
- pocodenoting absence
- nadadenoting absence
- in-violative of; contrary to
- des-reversal or cancellation
Swedish o-, o-
- o-denoting a lack of
- o-denoting absence
- van-denoting absence
- o-violative of; contrary to
- anti-violative of; contrary to
- av-reversal or cancellation
Tagalog di-, di-
- di-denoting a lack of
- di-denoting absence
Ukrainian не-
- не- (ne-)violative of; contrary to
Cite this entry
un-. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/un-
“un-.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/un-. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “un-,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/un-.
Source: un- on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.