unilateral
[ˌjʉː.nɪˈlæt.ə.ɹɫ̩]adjective
unilateral is spelled U-N-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L: 10 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unilateral means “Done by one side only” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unilateral?
| Letters | 10: U-N-I-L-A-T-E-R-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,297th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unilateral?
Unilateral appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,297th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unilateral?
- /ˌjuːnɪˈlætərəl/
- UK [ˌjʉː.nɪˈlæt.ə.ɹɫ̩]
- UK [ˌjʉː.nɪˈlæt͡ʃ.ɹɫ̩]
Unilateral has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-unilateral.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of unilateral
- more unilateral comparative
- most unilateral superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unilateral mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Done by one side only.
- 2
Affecting only one side of the body.
- 3
Binding or affecting one party only.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unilateral in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense done by one side only:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | unilatéral |
| German | einseitig |
| Portuguese | unilateral |
| Spanish | unilateral |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unilateral come from?
A modern creation (circa 1802), from New Latin ūnilaterālis (“one-sided”), from Latin ūnus (“one”) + laterālis (“sided, lateral”), equivalent to uni- + lateral.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).