English Reference
Adjective

unpublished

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ənˈpəbɫɪʃt/ UK /ʌnpˈʌblɪʃt/ un·pub·lished

adj.not printed or shared with the public yet. You use this to describe books, music, or research that is still private.

adj.not yet issued in print or made available for public sale or distribution. Often refers to manuscripts, private letters, or data that remain in the author's possession.


SIMPLE

The author has many unpublished stories in her desk.

CONTEXTUAL

The historian discovered a collection of unpublished letters that revealed new details about the war.

COMPLEX

While the scientist's main findings were widely cited, the raw data remained unpublished due to privacy concerns regarding the participants' identities.

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb like 'remain'.

Usage unpublished study

Most of the Japanese illustrator’s work, you guessed it, stayed unpublished and unseen in his lifetime.

The Guardian· 14 Aug 2026

In an unpublished letter sent to the newspaper, he cited an article from 2024 which claimed that one in 50 Albanians in the UK were in prison, the worst rate of any nationality.

The Guardian· 14 Aug 2026
This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated