unspoken

adjective un·spo·ken \ ˌən-ˈspō-kən \

|Updated on: 3 Jul 2018

Definition of unspoken

: not spoken : expressed or understood without being directly stated

an unspoken agreement/assumption

an unspoken rule

— unspoken to

: not spoken to

… she had sat the whole evening through in the same chair without occupation, not speaking, and unspoken to.
—Anthony Trollope

See unspoken defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of unspoken from the Web

The bond between them is a kind of warm, unspoken respect.

— stephanie zacharek, Time, "Review: Leave No Trace Is a Beautiful Movie About Living on the Fringes," 28 June 2018
These are the unspoken rules of engagement between a pair of worldwide celebrities, now collaborators, trying to find a few hours of relaxation at a game designed to elicit precisely the opposite.

— jack mccallum, SI.com, "The President Is Golfing," 27 June 2018
Plenty of other nations didn’t make it, but their fans draw an unspoken line.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Whatever you do this World Cup, don't root for Mexico," 15 June 2018
But plenty of politicians betray an unspoken disrespect for their constituents.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s North Korean Propaganda Reveals His Contempt for Democracy," 13 June 2018
The unspoken reason for the success of the censure was that Ciudadanos, riding high in the polls, is the only party wanting an immediate general election; the rest want to avoid one.

— The Economist, "Spain’s new prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, assembles a reassuring team," 7 June 2018
Royals are expected to adhere to an unspoken rule of neutral nails — so most of our favorite summer shades, like Essie's new Soda Pop collection — wouldn't pass the test.

— zoe weiner, Allure, "Meghan Markle Wears Unique Manicure on Official Visit With Queen," 14 June 2018
His nuclear threats spoken and unspoken, including the threat to traffic in atomic material to other regimes or terrorists, are likely in some sense aimed at getting the U.S. to solve this problem for him.

— holman w. jenkins, WSJ, "With North Korea, What’s in It for Donald?," 8 June 2018
But as a selling point for bidets, menstruation was possibly on par with unwanted pregnancy and prostitution as undesirable and unspoken during the pre- and postwar years.

— maria teresa hart, The Atlantic, "The Bidet's Revival," 18 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unspoken.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.