unwed
English
editPronunciation
edit- Rhymes: -ɛd
Etymology 1
editAdjective
editunwed (not comparable)
- Not married.
Translations
editnot married — see unmarried
Noun
editunwed (plural unweds)
- One who is not married; a bachelor or a spinster.
- 1944, Emily Carr, “Unmarried”, in The House of All Sorts[1]:
- Perhaps the most awkward situation for the inexperienced young landlady was how to deal with “unweds.”
- Should unweds living together receive the same social benefits as married couples?
Translations
editbachelor or a spinster — see unmarried
Etymology 2
editVerb
editunwed (third-person singular simple present unweds, present participle unwedding, simple past and past participle unwed or unwedded)
- (transitive) To annul the marriage of.
- 1918, All the World, volume 39, page 304:
- At last it was determined to unwed the unhappy pair, during the arrangements for which the husband was arrested and put into jail for six months for rioting.
- (transitive, figurative) To separate.
- 2008, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Studies in Literature: Third Series, page 206:
- A singer must be a fool indeed if you do not hear through Sullivan's notes the exact language of any song. Take, for example, the well-known Sentry song in Iolanthe and attempt to unwed the wit of the air from the wit of the thought and words; […]