Meaning & use

unilateral

adjective·Advanced

Done or decided by only one party, without the agreement of others involved.

See it in a sentence

The president suddenly announced a unilateral decision to withdraw all troops.

Other nations quickly criticized the country's unilateral trade restrictions and tariffs.

A note on using this word

Unilateral is common in politics and law to describe actions taken independently, without consulting other involved parties.

Words with a similar meaning

one-sided

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “unilateral”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.