French word

unilatéral

Pronunciation

IPA/ynilateʁal/

Meaning

  • adjectiveunilateral

Example

Il a pris une décision unilatérale sans consulter le comité.

He made a unilateral decision without consulting the committee.

Illustration for unilatéral (unilateral)

More examples

Les sanctions unilatérales peuvent isoler le pays concerné.

Unilateral sanctions can isolate the country concerned.

Core concept

One side acts alone while the other side has no say or role.

Common phrases

  • décision unilatérale

    unilateral decision

  • mesure unilatérale

    unilateral measure

  • sanction unilatérale

    unilateral sanction

Similar words

bilatéral: Involving both parties or sides.
arbitraire: Made without clear reasons or regard for established rules.

Definition in French

Qui n'implique qu'un seul côté ou acteur et qui se fait sans accord des autres.

Word origin

French unilatéral is a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin unilateralis, built from Latin unus, 'one', and latus, 'side'.

Usage tips

  • The adjective agrees with the noun: unilatéral, unilatérale, unilatéraux, and unilatérales.

Other meanings

  • one-sidedadjective

Opposites

  • bilatéralbilateraladjective
  • multilatéralmultilateraladjective

Related words

  • unilatéralitéunilateralitynoun
  • unilatéralementunilaterallyadverb

Word lists with this word