English Reference
Adjective

unaltered

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /əˈnɔɫtɝd/ UK /ʌnˈɒltəd/ un·al·tered

adj.not changed at all. You use this to describe something that stays exactly the same as it was before.

adj.not changed or modified in any way. Often used to describe data, physical objects, or states that remain in their original condition.


SIMPLE

The old house remains in its unaltered state.

CONTEXTUAL

The software ensures that the original file remains unaltered even after the backup process is complete.

COMPLEX

The researchers noted that the chemical properties of the sample remained unaltered despite being exposed to extreme temperatures for several hours.

All the posts were anonymized to protect any personal information, although unaltered versions were stored on an external hard drive not connected to the cloud.

Ars Technica· 24 Aug 2026

From un- + altered.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated