Meaning & use
uncracked
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Not having a crack or split in the surface.
Grammar: Describes a state, so it is not used with 'more' or 'most'; say 'the glass is uncracked', not 'more uncracked'.
Patterns
- be uncracked
- remain uncracked
The inspector found the windshield uncracked after the hailstorm.
She checked every egg and put the uncracked ones back in the carton.
The vase survived the move uncracked, which surprised everyone.
adjectivenot comparabletechnical
Not solved or decoded, especially a code or puzzle.
Grammar: Used mainly in technical or formal writing about codes and mysteries.
Patterns
- remain uncracked
- go uncracked
The ancient script remains uncracked despite decades of study.
For years the cipher went uncracked until a student noticed the pattern.
Common combinations
- remain uncracked
- The safe remained uncracked after the thieves gave up.
- uncracked code
- The museum displayed an uncracked code from the war.
- uncracked surface
- The uncracked surface of the table still looked new.
- go uncracked
- The mystery went uncracked for a century.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unbroken
- Unbroken means not broken at all, while uncracked means not cracked but possibly damaged in other ways.
- intact
- Intact means complete and undamaged, a stronger claim than uncracked.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: uncracked or uncrackable?
uncracked vs uncrackable
Uncrackable means impossible to crack, while uncracked simply means not cracked yet.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'uncracked' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Uncracked means not having a crack, so a whole egg can be boiled. Option 1 is wrong because an uncracked egg is not a reason to throw it away; option 2 is odd because raw eggs are usually not eaten; option 3 contradicts the meaning by saying it was cracked.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “uncracked”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.