Meaning & use
unicellular
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparablebiologytechnical
Consisting of only a single cell, as in the simplest forms of life.
Grammar: Used before a noun: unicellular organisms. No comparative forms.
Patterns
- unicellular organism
- unicellular life
- unicellular algae
Bacteria are unicellular organisms.
Yeast is a unicellular fungus used in baking and brewing.
The pond water contained many unicellular creatures.
Common combinations
- unicellular organism
- A unicellular organism carries out all life processes within one cell.
- unicellular life
- Unicellular life appeared on Earth billions of years ago.
- unicellular algae
- Unicellular algae form the base of many aquatic food chains.
- unicellular eukaryote
- A unicellular eukaryote has a nucleus inside its single cell.
Synonyms and how they differ
- single-celled
- The everyday equivalent; use it in general writing, while unicellular is the technical term.
Opposites
Word family
- unicellularity noun
- The state or condition of being made of a single cell.
Commonly confused: unicellular or multicellular? unicellular or unilateral?
unicellular vs multicellular
Multicellular means made of many cells; unicellular means made of just one.
unicellular vs unilateral
Unilateral means involving one side only, not about cells.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'unicellular' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Amoebas are single-celled, so 'unicellular' fits. Option 0 is wrong because humans are multicellular; option 2 contradicts 'many cells'; option 3 is the opposite of the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unicellular”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.