unilateral

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˌjuːnəˈlætɜrəl/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Done, undertaken, or performed by only one side or party, without the agreement or participation of others.; Affecting or involving only one side of the body or one side of an organ.; Having only one side; one-sided in structure or form.; In botany, having all parts arranged on one side of an axis.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Comparative: more unilateral Superlative: most unilateral

Collocations

unilateral decisionunilateral actionunilateral disarmamentunilateral moveunilateral declarationunilateral approach

Derivatives

unilaterallyunilateralismunilateralistbilateralmultilateral

Synonyms

one-sidednonreciprocalindependentautonomoussole

Antonyms

bilateralmultilateralmutualreciprocal

Commonly confused

bilateral
EN: 'Bilateral' involves two sides or parties, while 'unilateral' involves only one side acting independently.
multilateral
EN: 'Multilateral' involves three or more parties, while 'unilateral' involves a single party acting alone.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the prefix 'uni-' (one) + 'lateral' (side). Do not double the 'l' in 'lateral'. The adverb form 'unilaterally' has double 'l' only because of the '-lateral' + '-ly' junction.

💬 Examples

  1. The country made a unilateral decision to withdraw from the treaty.

  2. The patient experienced unilateral hearing loss in her left ear.

  3. The contract was criticized as being unilateral, favoring only the employer.

  4. The flowers grew in a unilateral arrangement along the stem.