Meanings
- not comparableNot reciprocated.
His small gifts went unreciprocated.
2 more examples
Elementary-age kids might benefit from knowing that most aren’t ready for a relationship until ages 10 to 14. Until then, and even after, there is nothing wrong or weird about having unreciprocated crushes.
2022 March 26, Elissa Strauss, “Why your kid’s crush should be taken seriously”, in CNNMankeeping describes the emotional labor women end up doing in heterosexual relationships. It goes beyond remembering birthdays or coordinating social plans. It means being your partner’s one-man support system. Managing his stress. Interpreting his moods. Holding his hand through feelings he won’t share with anyone else. All of it unpaid, unacknowledged, and often unreciprocated.
2025 June 20, Ashley Fike, “Mankeeping Is Why Women Are Done With Dating”, in VICESynonyms: unrequited
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot reciprocated.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenot returned in kind
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Englishreciprocated
- Englishunreciprocated
From un- + reciprocated.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish yksipuolinen, vastakaiuton
- yksipuolinenTranslations
- vastakaiutonTranslations
German unerwidert
- unerwidertTranslations
Polish nieodwzajemniony
- nieodwzajemnionyTranslations
Cite this entry
unreciprocated. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unreciprocated
“unreciprocated.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unreciprocated. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unreciprocated,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unreciprocated.
Source: unreciprocated on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.