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
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
Some molecular messages find their targets; most linger unread in the environment.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Mar. 2025
Separately, there's part of your brain devoted to telling the visual system what not to pay attention to, like the icon showing an ever-growing number of unread emails.
—Tim Stevens, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 2025
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Adjective
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
Some molecular messages find their targets; most linger unread in the environment.
—Quanta Magazine, 5 Mar. 2025
Separately, there's part of your brain devoted to telling the visual system what not to pay attention to, like the icon showing an ever-growing number of unread emails.
—Tim Stevens, Ars Technica, 3 Mar. 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 30 Apr. 2025.
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unread
adjective
un·read
ˌən-ˈred 
ˈən-
1
: not read
an unread book
2
: not well informed through reading : uneducated
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