A Dictionary of Cont..

UIlhOWIl 530
differently referred to: one goes to college, one
goes to Ihe university.
unkuown; onknownst. Unknown is standard
English. Unknownst is considered incorrect.
unlawful. See illegal.
unless is usually a conjunction. It introduces a
condition and is equivalent to if not, as in how
shall I know, unless I go to Cairo and Cathay?
But it may also be used as a preposition, that is,
without introducing a full clause. In that case, it
has the meaning of “except” or “but,” as in nor
was he ever known to curse, unless against the
government.
uumaterial; immaterial. Immaterial is the word
used in both England and America to mean of
no essential consequence, unimportant (It’s immaterial
to me whether you report it or not); not
material, incorporeal, spiritual (The soul is immaterial,
unfleshly ). If unmaterial is used, it may
only be used as a less desirable substitute for
immaterial in the second sense.
unmeasurable; immeasurable. The English prefer
unmeasztrable in the literal sense of incapable of
being measured (the unmeasurable depths of
space), whether because of size or insusceptibility
to measurement In transferred figurative
senses they prefer immeasurable (immeasurable
courage, immeasurable gratitude). In the United
States immeasurable is preferred in all contexts
and unmeasurable is becoming obsolete as an
alternative.
unmindful. See oblivious.
unmoral. See immoral.
unnatural; supernatural; supranatural; preternatural.
Unnatural means not natural, not
proper to the natural constitution or character;
having or showing a lack of natural or proper
instincts or feeling (Her composure at her
mother’s funeral appeared unnatural to many
people). It also means contrary to the nature of
things; at variance with the ordinary course of
nature, unusual, strange, abnormal; artificial or
affected, forced or strained (He will even speak
well of the bishop, though I tell him it is unnatural
in a beneficed clergyman-George Eliot).
One of the commonest meanings, a derivation
from the first meaning, is more than usually
cruel or evil (No, you unnatural hags,/ I will
have such revenges on you both. . . .).
Supernatural means being above or beyond
what is natural, something not being or done
through the operation of merely physical laws,
but by some agency above and separate from
these (Supernatural beings were taken for
granted by the ordinary Greek. These supernatural
explanations which come so readily to
the uninformed and undisciplined mind entail a
series of consequences which the same uninformed
and undisciplined mind would be the
first to reject if it could understand them). Supernatural
is also used loosely to mean extraordinary
or abnormal (It’s just supernatural, the way
that guy finds things out). Supranatural is a
synonym of supernatural, used occasionally in
England but almost never in the United States.
Preternatural designates something out of the
ordinary course of nature, abnormal, exceptional,
unusual. It was formerly used to describe
something which might have been a work of
nature, but was not (Dogs have a preternatural
sense of smell. Bats have a preternatural sense
of sight, for they can fly in total darkness and
avoid objects placed in their way), but with the
extension of our knowledge of the natural-
“The unnatural,” said Goethe, “that also is natural”-it
has come to be a slightly humorous
hyperbole for abnormal, exceptional (Mr. Pickering
was a widower-a fact which seemed to
produce in him a sort of preternatural concentrafion
of parenfal dignity-Henry James), or is
used as an evasive synonym for supernatural by
those who like to dabble in the occult but do not
wish to accept the intellectual consequences of
full immersion.
unnecessary. See redundant.
unorganized; disorganized. That is unorganized
which is not organized, which lacks organic
structure (He could take an unorganized group
of boys and mold them into a team) ; not formed
into an organized or systematized whole (This is
not a book but simply an unorganized mass of
notes). Unorganized has also the specific meaning,
in contemporary American usage, when applied
to labor, of not being organized into a
labor union. Disorganized means having an
existing organization destroyed or disrupted
(Enemy infiltration had left the Command Post
disorganized).
unpractical. See impracticable.
unqualified; disqualified. Unqualified means not
qualified, not fitted, not having the requisite
qualifications (Many students are unqualified to
do advanced work). It also means not modified,
not limited or restricted in any way (He rarely
gave unqualified approval. He always had doubts
and reservations and was hesitant to commend).
Disqualified means deprived of qualification or
fitness (He was disqualified from running for
ofice because of a criminal record).
unreadable. See illegible.
unreligious; irreligious. In England unreligious is
taken primarily to mean having no connection
with or relation to religion. Only rarely does it
have the secondary meaning of irreligious. In the
United States, however, the primary meaning of
unreligious is irreligious, and an ordinary secondary
meaning is the neutral one of having no
connection with religion (A minister has many
duties that may perhaps be called unreligious,
such as the repair and maintenance of the church
building, the care of the lawn, and so on). In
both England and America irreligious is a derogatory
term, at least from the standpoint of
the religious. It means not religious, impious,
ungodly, showing a disregard of or hostility to
religion.
unresponsible; irresponsible. The currently used
word is irresnonsible, meaning not responsible,
not answerable or accountable, careless, reckless
and indifferent to consequences (He entrusted