unmarked

adjective

un·​marked ˌən-ˈmärkt How to pronounce unmarked (audio)
: not marked: such as
a
: not having an identifying mark or distinctive notation
"I want five thousand dollars in unmarked singles."Ed McBain
… an unmarked storefront on Melrose Avenue.Gerri Hirshey
an unmarked grave
an unmarked police car
b
of a road : not having a marker giving a street name or route number
… an unmarked, graveled road running parallel with the levee.American Guide Series: Louisiana
c
: not noticed : unobserved
To let the death of such a man go unmarked would be, for one offense, to slight ourselves.Stanley Kauffman
d
: not characterized
wrote political articles unmarked by a regard for truth
The Christmas season passed, unmarked by any rejoicing.Elizabeth George Speare

Examples of unmarked in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The mother of a Mississippi man who was run over and killed by an off-duty police officer and buried in an unmarked grave alleged that officials covered up her son’s death in an interview with ABC News. Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023 Betts’ original cut opened on an establishing shot of a tree in a grassy field, which is later revealed to be an unmarked burial ground for America’s enslaved Africans. Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2023 Admission is free and there is free parking in student spaces only (the unmarked spaces) in the SAN-1 and SAN-2 parking lots in front of the 200 Building. Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2023 Sugar Land is only one of several communities across the country — including Tracy City, Tenn., and Clemson, S.C. — where mass, unmarked graves of African Americans have recently been found. Priya Krishna, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2023 The acknowledgement comes after reports this past weekend that unmarked aircraft had been detected flying above the Gaza Strip by open-source flight tracking services. Luis Martinez, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2023 For years, national headlines regularly blasted news of unmarked graves and rampant violence. Nelson Rauda Zablah, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Oct. 2023 Four weeks of excavation work at a residential school in Canada reportedly failed to turn up evidence of mass unmarked burial sites, raising questions over the claims of widespread indigenous graves across the country. Michael Lee, Fox News, 10 Sep. 2023 The door into the facility is unmarked door and bland, still right next to the cafeteria in the cramped and comparatively dated West Wing. Maryalice Parks, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unmarked.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unmarked was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near unmarked

Cite this Entry

“Unmarked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unmarked. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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