unipolar

U1N1I1P3O1L1A1R1

adjective

Having a single pole.

Similar
monopolar
Opposite
bipolar
OriginEnglish polar ← Late Latin polāri ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? →
UncommonScrabble 10
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Meanings

adjectiveunipolar (not comparable)
  1. not comparableHaving a single pole.

    All that talk of one superpower -- us -- bestriding a "unipolar" world seems as dated as Seinfeld reruns.

    2031 August 12, Michael Kinsley, “The Bush Presidency, Eight Years Later”, in Time, archived from the original on 04 Jan 2009
  2. not comparablehuman sciencesNot both depressive and manic; not bipolar.

    Most studies have tended to find somewhat higher suicide rates in unipolar depression than in bipolar disorder

    2007, Frederick K. Goodwin, Kay Redfield Jamison, Manic-Depressive Illness: Bipolar Disorders and Recurrent Depression, Volume 1, →ISBN, page 250
  3. not comparablegovernmentOf or relating to an international system in which one state wields most of the cultural, economic, and political influence.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
monopolar

adjectivehaving a single pole

Opposite
bipolar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ís?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁óynos
  3. Proto-Italic*oinos
  4. Old Latinoinos
  5. Latinūnus
  6. Latinūni-
  7. Englishuni-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*kʷel-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*kʷól-os
  10. Proto-Hellenic*pólos
  11. Ancient Greekπόλος (pólos)
  12. Latinpolus
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  14. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  15. Late Latinpolāri
  16. Englishpolar
  17. Englishunipolar

From uni- + polar.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch eenpolig, unipolair
  • eenpolighaving a single pole
  • unipolairhaving a single pole
Finnish yksinapainen
  • yksinapainenhaving a single pole
French unipolaire
  • unipolairehaving a single pole
Greek μονοπολικός
  • μονοπολικός (monopolikós)having a single pole
Indonesian unipolar
  • unipolarhaving a single pole
Irish aonpholach
  • aonpholachhaving a single pole
Italian omopolare, monopolare
  • omopolarehaving a single pole
  • monopolarehaving a single pole
  • unipolarehaving a single pole
Malay ekakutub
  • ekakutubhaving a single pole
Polish jednobiegunowy, unipolarny
  • jednobiegunowyhaving a single pole
  • unipolarnyhaving a single pole
Spanish unipolar
  • unipolarhaving a single pole

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with unipolar

solarcontrollerrollerpolarbipolarstrollercomptrollerbowlermolaralveolarvacuolarcircumpolardipolarbronchoalveolartrollerpollernonpolarosmolarmultipolarpatrollerequimolarpolerarteriolarbronchiolar
All rhymes →

Anagrams

uniporal
Cite this entry
APA

unipolar. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unipolar

MLA

“unipolar.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unipolar. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unipolar,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unipolar.

Source: unipolar on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.