Definition of unilateral
1a : done or undertaken by one person or partyb : of, relating to, or affecting one side of a subject : one-sidedc : constituting or relating to a contract or engagement by which an express obligation to do or forbear is imposed on only one party
2a : having parts arranged on one side a unilateral racemeb : 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
unilaterally
adverbRead the Latest from M-W
Examples of unilateral in a Sentence
Our country is prepared to take unilateral action.
Recent Examples of unilateral from the Web
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The question now is how Mexico and Canada sell this at home — making these unilateral concessions to us — in exchange for nothing.
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Why is McConnell dead-set against widening his own party’s unilateral ability to pass legislation?
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That contrasts with what President Trump often describes as a unilateral approach to stopping drugs from flowing into the country.
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When a corporation decides to make a unilateral decision that threatens minorities' lives without presenting them any options (the same ones granted to white, middle-class citizens) the inherent racial discrimination in their plans is laid bare.
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Indeed, making unilateral concessions to aggressive dictators in the hope of satiating their appetite is unlikely to work.
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We’re not taking a unilateral position that we’re removing all GMOs.
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The case combined several of the conservatives’ pet peeves, which include environmental protection, unilateral executive action, and, especially, Obama himself.
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Responsible for the deaths of more than 800 Spaniards, the Basque separatist group declared a unilateral cease-fire in 2011.
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.
First Known Use of unilateral
1802
Other Botany Terms
UNILATERAL Defined for English Language Learners
unilateral
playDefinition of unilateral for English Language Learners
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: involving only one group or country
Medical Dictionary
Law Dictionary
unilateral
playLegal Definition of unilateral
1 : done or undertaken by one party a unilateral mistake as to the terms
2 : of, relating to, or affecting one side of a subject
3 : containing a promise to perform made by only one party especially because the other has already performed (as by paying an amount) an option contract is unilateral
unilaterally
adverbLearn More about unilateral
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Spanish Central: Translation of unilateral Nglish: Translation of unilateral for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of unilateral for Arabic speakers
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