unsisterly

U1N1S1I1S1T1E1R1L1Y4

adjective

Not sisterly; not befitting a sister.

Scrabble 13

Meanings

adjectiveunsisterly (comparative more unsisterly, superlative most unsisterly)

comparative more unsisterly · superlative most unsisterly

  1. Not sisterly; not befitting a sister.

    Felicity tossed her golden head and shot an unsisterly glance at Dan.

    1911, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 1, in The Story Girl
    2 more examples

    […] I desire I may throw myself at my father’s and mother’s feet, and hear from them what their sentence is. I shall at least avoid, by that means, the unsisterly insults I meet with from you.

    1748, [Samuel Richardson], chapter 43, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume I, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC

    Mary was not so repulsive and unsisterly as Elizabeth, nor so inaccessible to all influence of hers […]

    1817 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter VI, in Persuasion; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume (please specify |volume=III or IV), London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*un-
  5. Old Englishun-
  6. Middle Englishun-
  7. Englishun-
  8. Englishsisterly
  9. Englishunsisterly

From un- + sisterly.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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