unselective

adjective

un·​se·​lec·​tive ˌən-sə-ˈlek-tiv How to pronounce unselective (audio)
: not marked by selection : random, indiscriminate
unselectively adverb

Examples of unselective in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The kind of person, in other words, who these days tends to start a college career—typically at an unselective school—but all-too-often ends up dropping out. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 7 Sep. 2012 The cult film Idiocracy (2006) imagines a future in which Americans' mental capacities have been degraded by generations of pop culture, junk food, and–how to put this delicately–unselective breeding. Samuel Goldman, The Week, 1 Mar. 2022 With an unselective online-only model seeking to scale rapidly, Lambda is likely to end up somewhere between (free) MOOCs and (costly) for-profit online universities, which – given its ISA model – sounds about right. Ryan Craig, Forbes, 28 May 2021 Its wide muzzle suggests unselective bulk-feeding on grasses and low-growing herbs. Smithsonian, 8 May 2018 But Pakistani officials went to pains to say the toll was unselective, with Muslims and Christians among the dead and bereaved. Daniyal Hassan, Naila Inayat and Salman Masood, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unselective.' 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

circa 1925, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unselective was circa 1925

Dictionary Entries Near unselective

Cite this Entry

“Unselective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unselective. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.

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