1
: not married
an unwed mother
unwed couples
2
: of or relating to unmarried persons
an unwed pregnancy
Examples of unwed in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While the percentage of married-couple households stayed stable over the two years at around 47%, the percent of households with unwed couples cohabiting rose to 7.2% in 2021 from 6.6% in 2019.
—
Time, 15 Sep. 2022
The center serves children from 6 weeks to 5 years old and is located in a former home for unwed mothers owned by the House of Mercy, whose mission is to provide child development and family services.
—Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Many were unwed mothers whose babies were taken from them and given up for adoption.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2024
Like many babies born to unwed Irish mothers like Lorna, she was sold into adoption against her mother’s will.
—Chris Vognar, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2024
Unlike Leckie, Duncan was, by the age of sixteen, an unwed mother.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
The trend is more pronounced among African Americans, 46% of whom reach 40 without marrying, and those with who do not have a degree, a third of whom remain unwed by that age.
—Time, 29 June 2023
Early wet nursing in the United States relied on enslaved labor or on poor, unwed mothers who often had to abandon their own babies to nurse those of wealthier women.
—Sushma Subramanian, Washington Post, 13 May 2022
By the end of the 1960s, most children sent abroad were not biracial but born to unwed mothers, another target of prejudice in South Korea.
—Choe Sang-Hun, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023
Time, 15 Sep. 2022
The center serves children from 6 weeks to 5 years old and is located in a former home for unwed mothers owned by the House of Mercy, whose mission is to provide child development and family services.
—Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Many were unwed mothers whose babies were taken from them and given up for adoption.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2024
Like many babies born to unwed Irish mothers like Lorna, she was sold into adoption against her mother’s will.
—Chris Vognar, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2024
Unlike Leckie, Duncan was, by the age of sixteen, an unwed mother.
—Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
The trend is more pronounced among African Americans, 46% of whom reach 40 without marrying, and those with who do not have a degree, a third of whom remain unwed by that age.
—Time, 29 June 2023
Early wet nursing in the United States relied on enslaved labor or on poor, unwed mothers who often had to abandon their own babies to nurse those of wealthier women.
—Sushma Subramanian, Washington Post, 13 May 2022
By the end of the 1960s, most children sent abroad were not biracial but born to unwed mothers, another target of prejudice in South Korea.
—Choe Sang-Hun, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unwed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near unwed
Cite this Entry
“Unwed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unwed. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share