unequal

English

Alternative forms

• unæqual, unequall (obsolete)
• unæquall (obsolete, rare)

Etymology

From Middle English unequale, equivalent to un- +‎ equal. Compare German unegal (“unlevel, uneven”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈiːkwəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːkwəl
• Hyphenation: un‧equal

Adjective

unequal (comparative more unequal, superlative most unequal)

1. Not the same.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:unequal

2. Out of balance.
3. (comparable) Inadequate; insufficiently capable or qualified.

   unequal to the task

4. Erratic, inconsistent.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter I, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 1:

     Her manner to Francesca was very unequal. Sometimes it had all the frankness of their early intimacy; at other times it was forbidding, and even petulant.

Derived terms

• unequal treaty

Translations

not the same

Bulgarian: неравен (bg) (neraven), нееднакъв (bg) (neednakǎv) Catalan: desigual (ca) Chinese: 不公平 (zh) (bùgōngpíng) (bù gōng píng) Czech: nerovný m Dutch: ongelijk (nl) Esperanto: malegala Finnish: eri (fi), erilainen (fi) German: ungleich (de) Greek: Ancient: ἄνισος (ánisos) Italian: diseguale (it) Latin: inīquus, impar Portuguese: desigual (pt) Romanian: inegal (ro) Spanish: desigual (es) Tagalog: ditumbas

out of balance

Bulgarian: неуравновесен (bg) (neuravnovesen) Esperanto: senekvilibra Finnish: epätasapainoinen (fi) Irish: míchothrom Italian: impari (it)

Noun

unequal (plural unequals)

1. One who is not an equal.