Meaning & use
unrequited
Last updated
UK/ˌʌnrɪˈkwaɪtɪd/
US/ˌʌnrɪˈkwaɪtɪd/
Meaning
adjectivebefore a noun
Felt for another person who does not feel the same in return, especially love.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: unrequited love.
Patterns
- unrequited love
- unrequited feelings
He wrote songs about unrequited love.
Her unrequited crush lasted for years.
The novel's hero suffers from unrequited passion.
Common combinations
- unrequited love
- Unrequited love is a common theme in poetry.
- unrequited feelings
- He kept his unrequited feelings secret.
- unrequited crush
- An unrequited crush can be painful.
- unrequited passion
- The play is about unrequited passion.
- unrequited affection
- Her unrequited affection went unnoticed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- one-sided
- One-sided is broader and can describe any uneven relationship, not just love.
- unreturned
- Unreturned simply means not given back, and sounds plainer and less romantic.
- unreciprocated
- Unreciprocated is more formal and general.
- hopeless
- Hopeless stresses the lack of chance, not the lack of return.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: unrequited or unrelated?
unrequited vs unrelated
Unrelated means not connected, with no sense of love or return.
Practice
Which situation is an example of unrequited love?
Choose one answer.
Unrequited love is love that is not returned. Only the first shows one-sided feeling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unrequited”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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