unwritten
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
describes a rule or agreement that people follow even though it is not written down in a law or contract.
referring to social norms, rules, or agreements that are implicit and understood by a group without being formally articulated or codified.
Simple“There was an unwritten rule in the office that you never took the last cup of coffee.”
In context“The organization relied on a complex set of unwritten rules to maintain order, which often confused new employees accustomed to formal handbooks.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
passed from person to person by speaking rather than by writing.
communicated or transmitted through speech or tradition rather than through written records.
Simple“The tribe maintained an unwritten history that was passed down through stories.”
In context“Scholars have struggled to document the unwritten traditions of the region, as many of the elders who hold the knowledge are passing away.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
having no writing on it yet.
containing no written marks or text; remaining in a blank state.
Simple“She stared at the unwritten page, waiting for an idea to come to her.”
In context“The poet viewed the unwritten scroll not as a void, but as a space of infinite potential for his next masterpiece.”
From Middle English unwriten, from Old English unwriten, unġewriten (“unwritten”), equivalent to un- + written.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.