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110 results for: unique

Dictionary Entries (9 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Cite This Source
u·nique    Audio Help   [yoo-neek] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics: a unique copy of an ancient manuscript.
2.having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable: Bach was unique in his handling of counterpoint.
3.limited in occurrence to a given class, situation, or area: a species unique to Australia.
4.limited to a single outcome or result; without alternative possibilities: Certain types of problems have unique solutions.
5.not typical; unusual: She has a very unique smile.
–noun
6.the embodiment of unique characteristics; the only specimen of a given kind: The unique is also the improbable.
[Origin: 1595–1605; < F < L ūnicus, equiv. to ūn(us) one + -icus -ic]

—Related forms
u·nique·ly, adverb
u·nique·ness, noun

—Usage note Many authors of usage guides, editors, teachers, and others feel strongly that such “absolute” words as complete, equal, perfect, and especially unique cannot be compared because of their “meaning”: a word that denotes an absolute condition cannot be described as denoting more or less than that absolute condition. However, all such words have undergone semantic development and are used in a number of senses, some of which can be compared by words like more, very, most, absolutely, somewhat, and totally and some of which cannot.
The earliest meanings of unique when it entered English around the beginning of the 17th century were “single, sole” and “having no equal.” By the mid-19th century unique had developed a wider meaning, “not typical, unusual,” and it is in this wider sense that it is compared: The foliage on the late-blooming plants is more unique than that on the earlier varieties. The comparison of so-called absolutes in senses that are not absolute is standard in all varieties of speech and writing.
See also a1, complete, perfect.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Thesaurus Entries (1 more entry. View all »)
  Roget's II: The New ThesaurusCite This Source
Main Entry:  unique
Part of Speech:  adjective
Definition:  Without equal or rival.
Synonyms:  alone, incomparable, matchless, nonpareil, only, peerless, singular, unequaled, unexampled, unmatched, unparalleled, unrivaled
Source:  Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition
by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
  Synonym Collection v1.1Cite This Source
Main Entry:  unique
Part of Speech:  adjective
Synonyms:  alone, distinctive, eccentric, exceptional, extraordinary, idiographic, incomparable, individual, inimitable, lone, matchless, nonpareil, notable, odd, one, oner, only, peculiar, peerless, preeminent, rare, single, singular, sole, solitary, special, strange, sui generis, transcendent, uncommon, unequaled, unexampled, unparalleled, unprecedented, unrivaled, unusual
Source:  Synonym Collection v1.1
Copyright © 2008 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.
  Synonym Collection v1.1Cite This Source
Main Entry:  unique
Part of Speech:  noun
Synonyms:  nonesuch, nonpareil, paragon, phoenix, rara avis, uniqueness
Source:  Synonym Collection v1.1
Copyright © 2008 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.

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