Meanings
- not comparablePertaining to only one direction, e.g.: where all component parts are aligned in the same direction in space.
[...] a reversible booster was fitted to the trailing bogie; all previous applications on the L.N.E.R. for use in main line traffic had been of unidirectional boosters, […]
1941 November, O. S. Nock, “The Locomotives of Sir Nigel Gresley: Part VI—Experiments and Rebuilds 1927-33”, in Railway Magazine, page 4831 more example
Equally important is the class mailing list, which facilitates two-way communication at a distance. (By contrast, the web page is basically a unidirectional teacher-to-student communication.)
2005, Richard Samson, edited by Martha Tennent, Training for the New Millennium: Pedagogies for translation and interpreting, Benjamins Translation Library, page 119Synonyms: simplex
plural unidirectionals
- A fabric in which the majority of fibers run in the same single direction.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivePertaining to only one direction, e.g.: where all component parts are aligned in the same direction in space.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveoperating or moving or allowing movement in one direction only
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ís?
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
- Proto-Italic*oinos
- Old Latinoinos
- Latinūnus
- Latinūni-
- Englishuni-
- Englishdirection
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishdirectional
- Englishunidirectional
From uni- + directional.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian еднопосочен
- еднопосочен (ednoposočen)pertaining to only one direction
Catalan unidireccional
- unidireccionalpertaining to only one direction
Dutch unidirectioneel, eenrichtings-
- unidirectioneelpertaining to only one direction
- eenrichtings-pertaining to only one direction
Finnish yksisuuntainen, tasasuuntainen
- yksisuuntainenpertaining to only one direction
- tasasuuntainenpertaining to only one direction
French unidirectionnel
- unidirectionnelpertaining to only one direction
German unidirektional
- unidirektionalpertaining to only one direction
Greek ομοιοκατευθυνόμενος
- ομοιοκατευθυνόμενος (omoiokatefthynómenos)pertaining to only one direction
Hindi एकदिश, एकदिशीय
- एकदिश (ekdiś)pertaining to only one direction
- एकदिशीय (ekdiśīya)pertaining to only one direction
Hungarian egyirányú
- egyirányúpertaining to only one direction
Irish aontreoch
- aontreochpertaining to only one direction
Polish jednokierunkowy
- jednokierunkowypertaining to only one direction
Russian однонапра́вленный
- однонапра́вленный (odnonaprávlennyj)pertaining to only one direction
Swedish enkelriktad
- enkelriktadpertaining to only one direction
Ukrainian односпрямо́ваний
- односпрямо́ваний (odnosprjamóvanyj)pertaining to only one direction
Cite this entry
unidirectional. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unidirectional
“unidirectional.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unidirectional. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unidirectional,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unidirectional.
Source: unidirectional on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.