un-ionized

English

Alternative forms

• unionized, un-ionised, unionised

Etymology

From un- +‎ ionized, from ionize.

Pronunciation

• enPR: ŭn-īʹən-īzd, IPA^(key): /ʌnˈaɪənaɪzd/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Adjective

un-ionized (comparative more un-ionized, superlative most un-ionized)

1. (chemistry) Not ionized.

   Synonyms: nonionic, nonionized

   Antonym: ionized

Usage notes

At least one manual of style, and various publications' style sheets inspired by it, specifies the hyphenated style un-ionized among the alternative forms of this word, simply to avoid the homography with unionized as in "having a union", whereas there is no compelling reason not to avoid it. It is thus a rare exception to their general rule of preferring the solid form for affixed words by default, with exceptions only for clarity. Other words in this class are retreat versus re-treat, reformation versus re-formation, and recreation versus re-creation. The exception does not apply to any other forms of these words for which no ambiguity exists: thus, recreational and retreatment.