unilateral

adjective uni·lat·er·al \ ˌyü-ni-ˈla-tə-rəl , -ˈla-trəl \

|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

Examples: unilateral in a Sentence

Definition of unilateral

1 a : done or undertaken by one person or party

b : of, relating to, or affecting one side of a subject : one-sided

c : constituting or relating to a contract or engagement by which an express obligation to do or forbear is imposed on only one party

2 a : having parts arranged on one side

a unilateral raceme

b : occurring on, performed on, or affecting one side of the body or one of its parts

unilateral exophthalmos

3 : unilineal

4 : having only one side

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unilaterally

adverb

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Examples of unilateral in a Sentence

Our country is prepared to take unilateral action.

Recent Examples of unilateral from the Web

The callous unilateral policy toward people such as Diana and Luis is not only reprehensible but also antithetical to our nation’s values.

— allison bond, STAT, "We can’t ignore the scars of those seeking asylum for domestic abuse and gang violence," 29 June 2018
Both the government and the Taliban have declared unilateral cease-fires to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "Clues of peace in Afghanistan," 15 June 2018
China regards the first round of American tariffs as a unilateral violation of global trading rules.

— The Economist, "A full-blown trade war between America and China looks likely," 21 June 2018
But the answer is not countries adopting harsh unilateral measures that target refugees, and run counter to our values and our responsibilities.

— ale russian, PEOPLE.com, "Angelina Jolie Slams 'Countries Adopting Harsh' Measures Against Refugees Amid Migrant Crisis," 20 June 2018
The only way for the chancellor to forestall a unilateral decision by her minister would be to fire him.

— patrick donahue, Bloomberg.com, "Five Ways Merkel’s Coalition Crisis Could Blow Up or Blow Over," 15 June 2018
His tool, ironically enough, is a 1962 law giving the president unilateral authority to raise tariffs for national security reasons.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Confesses Illegal Motive, Blows Up Legal Basis For His Trade War," 10 June 2018
The key turnabout in the region, after all, has come from the fact that Trump decided to make a large, unilateral concession to the North Koreans.

— matthew yglesias, Vox, "Why did anyone ever take Trump’s North Korea diplomacy seriously?," 24 May 2018
As explained below, the unilateral manner in which the policy has come into effect could raise a host of legal problems for the NFL.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "The NFL vs. The NFLPA: New National Anthem Policy Deepens Divide, Prolongs Controversy," 23 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unilateral.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The world is a smaller place than it used to be, and we get uncomfortable when a single nation adopts a policy of unilateralism—that is, acting independently with little regard for what the rest of the world thinks. A unilateral invasion of another country, for instance, usually looks like a grab for power and resources. But occasionally the world welcomes a unilateral action, as when the U.S. announced unilateral nuclear-arms reductions in the early 1990s. Previously, such reductions had only happened as part of bilateral ("two-sided") agreements with the old Soviet Union. Multilateral agreements, on issues such as climate change, often involve most of the world's nations.