unchecked
adj. B2 Upper Intermediate US //ənˈtʃɛkt// UK //ʌntʃˈɛkt// unchecked
adj. something that is allowed to continue or grow without being stopped or controlled. You use this to describe problems that get worse because nobody intervenes.
adj. not restrained, controlled, or hindered. Often describes negative phenomena that escalate due to a lack of intervention or oversight.
The fire spread unchecked through the dry forest.
If left unchecked, the software bug could eventually crash the entire operating system.
Historians argue that the dictator's rise was facilitated by an unchecked expansion of executive power that the legislative branch failed to challenge.
From un- + checked.
See uncheck.
Usage
Often follows a linking verb like 'remain' or 'go', or functions as a post-positive modifier after the noun it describes.