Childrens Illustrated Thesaurus

238

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

unhealthy

unhealthy^1

adjective likely to cause illness

» Dennis eats too much

unhealthy food.

bad for you, harmful,

insanitary, noxious,

unwholesome

antonym: healthy

unhealthy^2

adjective not well » Ross

looks rather pale and unhealthy.

ailing, crook (Australia and

New Zealand; informal), ill,

not well, poorly (Britain;

informal), sick, unwell

antonym: healthy

unimportant

adjective having little

significance or importance

» The difference in their ages

is unimportant and doesn’t

affect their friendship.

insignificant, minor, paltry,

slight, trivial

antonym: important

uninterested

adjective not interested in

something » I’m completely

uninterested in politics.

apathetic, bored,

impassive, indifferent,

nonchalant, passive,

unconcerned

antonym: interested

union^1

noun an organization of people

or groups with mutual interests

» Julie belongs to several

different unions.

association, coalition,

confederation, federation,

league

union^2

noun the joining together

of two or more things

» We formed a union

with another dance troupe.

amalgamation, blend,

combination, fusion,

mixture, amalgam,

conjunction, synthesis

unite

verb to join together and

act as a group » The rival

bands united to perform

a charity concert.

collaborate, combine, join,

join forces, link up, merge,

pull together, work together

antonym: divide

universal

adjective relating to everyone

or to the whole universe

» The programmes have

a universal appeal and are

suitable for the whole family.

common, general,

unlimited, widespread,

worldwide, omnipresent,

overarching

unkind

adjective lacking in kindness

and consideration

» It’s very unkind to call

anyone names.

cruel, malicious, mean,

nasty, spiteful, thoughtless

antonym: kind

unknown

adjective not familiar or famous

» Tim was an unknown writer

before he won the book prize.

humble, obscure,

unfamiliar, unsung

antonym: famous

unlike

preposition different from

» The two butterflies looked

completely unlike one another.

different from, dissimilar to,

distinct from, divergent

from (formal), far from

antonym: like

unlikely

adjective probably not true

or likely to happen » Sofia

blamed her lateness on the

unlikely excuse that there

were no buses.

implausible, incredible,

unbelievable, unconvincing

antonym: likely

The two butterflies looked

completely unlike one another.

Dennis eats too much

unhealthy food.

We formed a union with another

dance troupe.

rickety

unsteady

adjective not held or fixed securely and likely to fall over

» That bridge looks decidedly unsteady to me.

shaky

tottering

precarious

He laughed at her

tottering

steps across the bridge.

The planks were strung together in a

precarious

way.

The

rickety

bridge had gaps

between the planks.

The bridge felt

shaky

as soon

as she stepped on it.

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