1
: not read : left unexamined
an unread book
unread messages
Poe, Hawthorne, Shakespeare, Thackeray—the full panoply of English literature piled up unread, but treasured, under my bed.—
Russell Baker
Russell Baker2
: lacking the experience or the benefits of reading
unread in political science
plural unreads
: something (such as an email or text message) that has not been read
I'm also someone who hates having unread emails, and opening my inbox and seeing dozens of unreads stresses me out immensely.—Rachel Wilkerson Miller
Rachel Wilkerson MillerExamples of unread in a Sentence
Adjective
On her desk was a pile of magazines that had been left unread for months.
an officer who seemed to be completely unread in military theory
Recent Examples on the Web
Kendrick Marshall, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Sources said hundreds of unread X-rays conducted as part of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program, the NIOSH program that screens and monitors the respiratory health of miners, remain in limbo, with no doctors to analyze the results and report them to patients.
—Dr. Mark Abdelmalek, ABC News, 29 Apr. 2025
No rehearsal or director, just the actor and the terror of an unread script.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2025
Too many companies launch initiatives, gather survey data, and hold focus groups, only to let those insights sit in an unread report.
—Mark Murphy, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unread
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Adjective
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is warning residents to leave those messages unread to avoid becoming victims of a widespread scam.
—Kendrick Marshall, Sacbee.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Sources said hundreds of unread X-rays conducted as part of the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program, the NIOSH program that screens and monitors the respiratory health of miners, remain in limbo, with no doctors to analyze the results and report them to patients.
—Dr. Mark Abdelmalek, ABC News, 29 Apr. 2025
No rehearsal or director, just the actor and the terror of an unread script.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2025
Too many companies launch initiatives, gather survey data, and hold focus groups, only to let those insights sit in an unread report.
—Mark Murphy, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unread
Cite this Entry
“Unread.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unread. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unread
adjective
un·read
ˌən-ˈred 
ˈən-
1
: not read
an unread book
2
: not well informed through reading : uneducated
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