unless
/ɪnˈlɛs/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.98 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
conj
If not; used with counterfactual conditionals.
conj
Except if; used with hypothetical conditionals.
Example Sentences
- "I’m leaving unless I get a pay rise."
- "You can't go out unless it stops raining."
- "Unless part of the staff, you are not allowed beyond this point."
- "Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion."
- "Unless someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not."
- "Who would know of Alexander or Caesar, or would respect the Stoics or the Peripatetics, unless they had been distinguished by the memorials of writers?"
Etymology
From Middle English unlesse, earlier on lesse (modern on + less), from (not) on lesse (than) (“(not) on a less compelling condition (than)”). The quality of negation in the word and the lack of stress changed on to un-.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪnˈlɛs/