unwritten

adjective un·writ·ten \ ˌən-ˈri-tᵊn \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

Definition of unwritten

1 : not expressed in writing : oral, traditional

an unwritten rule

2 : containing no writing : blank

See unwritten defined for English-language learners

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Examples of unwritten in a Sentence

They had an unwritten agreement.
an unwritten contract may not be enforceable

Recent Examples of unwritten from the Web

But as Perez drew scrutiny for becoming the latest arbiter of baseball’s unwritten rules, his teammates rallied.

— maria torres, kansascity, "Sal Perez was mocked for turning into 'fun police.' But what he did worked for Royals | The Kansas City Star," 10 May 2018
Yet there is evidence that donors, including the Koch Foundation, continue to exert extraordinary influence at universities, in many cases unwritten or even unstated.

— New York Times, "What Charles Koch and Other Donors to George Mason University Got for Their Money," 5 May 2018
Those rules, unwritten or otherwise, were front-page news during and after the 2016 election, when Comey had the task of sorting out whether either or both of the two contenders to be the 45th President had broken the law.

— michael duffy, Time, "James Comey’s Book A Higher Loyalty Is a Major Break from the Norm," 3 May 2018
The Friends of Dean Martinez keep its sense of heartbreak and longing but strip its French connections, reconstructing it as the theme song of an unwritten desert movie.

— aaron gilbreath, Longreads, "Finding the Soundtrack to My Desert Life," 25 Apr. 2018
That’s not in baseball’s unwritten rulebook as much as society’s code.

— david haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Mother Nature must really hate baseball, America's national frost time," 16 Apr. 2018
In fact, Colon wasn't too keen when his teammates started to keep their distance in the dugout as part of the unwritten baseball protocal when a pitcher is working on perfection.

— stefan stevenson, star-telegram, "Bartolo Colon takes perfect game into eighth as Rangers beat Astros in 10th | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 15 Apr. 2018
Earlier in the trial, Green, 70, defended giving unwritten city contracts worth $35 million to Davis, who later became his financial benefactor.

— aubrey nagle, Philly.com, "Sheriff Green beats all charges, how MLK's death changed America, Villanova preps for parade | Morning Newsletter," 4 Apr. 2018
That is a sentence from my favorite yet-unwritten George Saunders short story.

— dana schwartz, EW.com, "Barbra Streisand explains why she cloned her dog in New York Times guest essay," 3 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of unwritten

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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unwritten Synonyms

UNWRITTEN Defined for English Language Learners

unwritten

adjective

Definition of unwritten for English Language Learners

: spoken or understood without being written

UNWRITTEN Defined for Kids

unwritten

adjective un·writ·ten \ ˌən-ˈri-tᵊn \

Definition of unwritten for Students

: not in writing : followed by custom

unwritten law

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unwritten

Definition of unwritten

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UNWRITTEN Defined for English Language Learners

unwritten

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