English Reference
Adjective

unsolved

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ənˈsɑɫvd/ UK /ʌnsˈɒlvd/ un·solved

adj.describing a mystery, crime, or problem that has not been explained or fixed yet.

adj.referring to a problem, mystery, or crime for which no solution or explanation has been found. Often used to describe cold cases or mathematical paradoxes.


SIMPLE

The mystery of the missing keys remains unsolved.

CONTEXTUAL

Police are still looking for new evidence in the unsolved robbery that took place last winter.

COMPLEX

Despite decades of rigorous investigation and the application of modern forensic technology, the identity of the culprit in the 1974 case remains one of the city's most famous unsolved mysteries.

Usage

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

Usage unsolved problem

Keeping it out of the rover's moving parts is still an unsolved problem .

Phys.org· 15 Aug 2026

Both were investigating the then unsolved murders of two schoolgirls, Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows, in Brighton’s Wild Park in 1986.

The Guardian· 15 Aug 2026

From un- + solved.

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

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated