Meaning & use
unilateral promise
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Meaning
nouncountablelegal
A promise made by one party alone, without an exchange of promises or consideration from the other side.
Grammar: Countable: 'a unilateral promise', 'two unilateral promises'. Often used in legal contexts.
Patterns
- make a unilateral promise
- a unilateral promise to someone
- a unilateral promise that ...
The company made a unilateral promise to its employees about job security.
In law, a unilateral promise may not be enforceable without consideration.
She gave a unilateral promise to donate the money, without asking for anything in return.
Word forms
| plural | unilateral promises |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a unilateral promise
- He made a unilateral promise to pay for the damage, even though no one asked him to.
- enforce a unilateral promise
- The court refused to enforce the unilateral promise because there was no contract.
- binding unilateral promise
- A binding unilateral promise must meet certain legal requirements.
Synonyms and how they differ
- one-sided promise
- Less formal; 'unilateral promise' is the precise legal term.
- gratuitous promise
- In law, a promise made without consideration; often used interchangeably, but 'gratuitous' emphasizes lack of payment.
Opposites
Word family
- unilateral adjective
- Done by one side only; e.g., a unilateral decision.
- unilaterally adverb
- In a one-sided manner; e.g., acting unilaterally.
Commonly confused: unilateral promise or unilateral contract?
unilateral promise vs unilateral contract
A unilateral contract is a legal agreement where one party makes a promise in exchange for an act, not a promise. A unilateral promise is just the promise itself.
Practice
In contract law, a __________ is a promise made by one party without receiving a promise in return.
Choose one answer.
A 'unilateral promise' is made by one side only. 'Bilateral' and 'mutual' mean both sides promise, which is the opposite. 'Collective promise' means a group promises together, not one side alone.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unilateral promise”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.