"unless" meaning in English

See unless in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Conjunction

IPA: /ənˈlɛs/, /ʌnˈlɛs/ Audio: en-us-unless.ogg [US]
Rhymes: -ɛs Etymology: onlesse, from on lesse, from "on a less condition". Head templates: {{en-con}} unless
  1. Except on a specified condition; if not. Translations (except on a specified condition): tensy (Afrikaans), po të mos (Albanian), በስተቀር (bästäḳär) (Amharic), εἰ μή (ei mḗ) (Ancient Greek), إِلَّا (ʔillā) (Arabic), ܐܠܐ (ʾellā) [Classical-Syriac] (Aramaic), եթե չ- (etʿe čʿ-) (Armenian), əgər (Azerbaijani), salbu (Basque), калі́ не (kalí nje) (Belarusian), না হলে (english: na hole) (Bengali), освен ако (osven ako) (Bulgarian), မဟုတ်လျှင် (ma.huthlyang) (Burmese), a menys que (Catalan), llevat que (Catalan), tret que (Catalan), fora que (Catalan), مەگەر (meger) (Central Kurdish), 除非 (ceoi⁴ fei¹) (Chinese Cantonese), 除非 (chúfēi) (Chinese Mandarin), dokud ne (Czech), medmindre (Danish), undtagen [obsolete] (Danish), tenzij (Dutch), kondiĉe ke ... ne (Esperanto), kui ei (Estonian), ellei (Finnish), jollei (Finnish), à moins que (French), sauf si (French), თუ არ (tu ar) (Georgian), wenn nicht (German), es sei denn (German), εκτός αν (ektós an) (Greek), παρά μόνο αν (pará móno an) (Greek), જ્યાં સુધી (jyā̃ sudhī) (Gujarati), ke ole (Hawaiian), אלמלא (ilmalé) [formal] (Hebrew), אלא אם כן (ela im ken) (Hebrew), जब तक (jab tak) (Hindi), hacsak nem (Hungarian), kivéve ha (Hungarian), csak ha (Hungarian), nema (Icelandic), kecuali (Indonesian), mura (Irish), a meno che (Italian), se non (Italian), もし...でなければ (moshi ... de nakereba) (Japanese), លុះត្រាតែ (luh traa tae) (Khmer), ...이 아니면 (...i animyeon) (Korean), nisi (Latin), melainkan (Malay), അല്ലാതെ (allāte) (Malayalam), kemm-il darba (Maltese), māna (Maori), үгүй бол (ügüj bol) (Mongolian), illa (Ngazidja Comorian), hvis ikke (Norwegian), med mindre (Norwegian Bokmål), med mindre (Norwegian Nynorsk), minders (Norwegian Nynorsk), minder (Norwegian Nynorsk), mens que (Occitan), būtan (Old English), nema (Old Norse), پرته لدې چې (Pashto), مگر اینکه (magar inke) (Persian), chyba że (Polish), a menos que (Portuguese), a não ser que (Portuguese), cu excepția cazului în (Romanian), е́сли не (jésli ne) (Russian), ра́зве что (rázve što) (Russian), keretse (Rwanda-Rundi), osim ako (Serbo-Croatian), ukoliko ne (Serbo-Croatian), ako ne (Serbo-Croatian), නම් මිස (nam misa) (Sinhalese), razen če (Slovene), a menos que (Spanish), a no ser que (Spanish), salvo (alt: (+ subjunctive)) (Spanish), como no (alt: (+ subjunctive)) (Spanish), såvida ej (Swedish), såvida inte (Swedish), தவிர (tavira) (Tamil), мәгәр (mägär) (Tatar), తప్ప (tappa) (Telugu), เว้นแต่ (wêntæ̀) (Thai), จนกว่า (cnkẁā) (Thai), -mezse [suffix, verb] (Turkish), якщо́ не (jakščó ne) (Ukrainian), хіба що (xiba ščo) (Ukrainian), trừ phi (Vietnamese), trừ khi (Vietnamese), oni (Welsh), סײַדן (saydn) (Yiddish)
    Sense id: en-unless-en-conj-SrA0Q3BA Disambiguation of 'except on a specified condition': 84 1 15
  2. If not; used with counterfactual conditionals.
    Sense id: en-unless-en-conj-FDWa6ddq Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 10 46 44
  3. Except if; used with hypothetical conditionals.
    Sense id: en-unless-en-conj-d5ae5vud Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 10 46 44
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: unlesse [obsolete], unlessen Derived forms: precisely unless, unlesss, unless and until, until and unless

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for unless meaning in English (16.9kB)

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "except on a condition",
      "word": "if"
    }
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "precisely unless"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "unlesss"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "unless and until"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "until and unless"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "onlesse, from on lesse, from \"on a less condition\".",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "unless",
      "name": "en-con"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "conj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I’m leaving unless I get a pay rise.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "You can't go out unless it stops raining.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1839, Denison Olmsted, A Compendium of Astronomy, page 95",
          "text": "Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, Dr. Seuss, The Lorax",
          "text": "Unless someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Except on a specified condition; if not."
      ],
      "id": "en-unless-en-conj-SrA0Q3BA",
      "links": [
        [
          "Except",
          "except"
        ],
        [
          "specified",
          "specified"
        ],
        [
          "condition",
          "condition"
        ],
        [
          "if",
          "if"
        ],
        [
          "not",
          "not"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "af",
          "lang": "Afrikaans",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "tensy"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "sq",
          "lang": "Albanian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "po të mos"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "am",
          "lang": "Amharic",
          "roman": "bästäḳär",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "በስተቀር"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "ʔillā",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "إِلَّا"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "syc",
          "lang": "Aramaic",
          "roman": "ʾellā",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "tags": [
            "Classical-Syriac"
          ],
          "word": "ܐܠܐ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "roman": "etʿe čʿ-",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "եթե չ-"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "az",
          "lang": "Azerbaijani",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "əgər"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "salbu"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "be",
          "lang": "Belarusian",
          "roman": "kalí nje",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "калі́ не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "bn",
          "english": "na hole",
          "lang": "Bengali",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "না হলে"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "osven ako",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "освен ако"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "my",
          "lang": "Burmese",
          "roman": "ma.huthlyang",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "မဟုတ်လျှင်"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "a menys que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "llevat que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "tret que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "fora que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "roman": "ceoi⁴ fei¹",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "除非"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "chúfēi",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "除非"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "dokud ne"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "medmindre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "tags": [
            "obsolete"
          ],
          "word": "undtagen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "tenzij"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "kondiĉe ke ... ne"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "kui ei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "ellei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "jollei"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "à moins que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "sauf si"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "roman": "tu ar",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "თუ არ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "wenn nicht"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "es sei denn"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "ektós an",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "εκτός αν"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "pará móno an",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "παρά μόνο αν"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "grc",
          "lang": "Ancient Greek",
          "roman": "ei mḗ",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "εἰ μή"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "gu",
          "lang": "Gujarati",
          "roman": "jyā̃ sudhī",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "જ્યાં સુધી"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "haw",
          "lang": "Hawaiian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "ke ole"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "ilmalé",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "tags": [
            "formal"
          ],
          "word": "אלמלא"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "ela im ken",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "אלא אם כן"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "roman": "jab tak",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "जब तक"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "hacsak nem"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "kivéve ha"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "csak ha"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "nema"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "id",
          "lang": "Indonesian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "kecuali"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "mura"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "a meno che"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "se non"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "moshi ... de nakereba",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "もし...でなければ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "km",
          "lang": "Khmer",
          "roman": "luh traa tae",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "លុះត្រាតែ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "...i animyeon",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "...이 아니면"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ckb",
          "lang": "Central Kurdish",
          "roman": "meger",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "مەگەر"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "nisi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "melainkan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ml",
          "lang": "Malayalam",
          "roman": "allāte",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "അല്ലാതെ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "mt",
          "lang": "Maltese",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "kemm-il darba"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "mi",
          "lang": "Maori",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "māna"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "mn",
          "lang": "Mongolian",
          "roman": "ügüj bol",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "үгүй бол"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "zdj",
          "lang": "Ngazidja Comorian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "illa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "hvis ikke"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "med mindre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "med mindre"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "minders"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "minder"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "mens que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ang",
          "lang": "Old English",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "būtan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "non",
          "lang": "Old Norse",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "nema"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ps",
          "lang": "Pashto",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "پرته لدې چې"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "fa",
          "lang": "Persian",
          "roman": "magar inke",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "مگر اینکه"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "chyba że"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "a menos que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "a não ser que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "cu excepția cazului în"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "jésli ne",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "е́сли не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "rázve što",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "ра́зве что"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "rw",
          "lang": "Rwanda-Rundi",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "keretse"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "osim ako"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "ukoliko ne"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "ako ne"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "si",
          "lang": "Sinhalese",
          "roman": "nam misa",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "නම් මිස"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "razen če"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "a menos que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "a no ser que"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "alt": "(+ subjunctive)",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "salvo"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "alt": "(+ subjunctive)",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "como no"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "såvida ej"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "såvida inte"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "ta",
          "lang": "Tamil",
          "roman": "tavira",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "தவிர"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "tt",
          "lang": "Tatar",
          "roman": "mägär",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "мәгәр"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "te",
          "lang": "Telugu",
          "roman": "tappa",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "తప్ప"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "roman": "wêntæ̀",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "เว้นแต่"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "th",
          "lang": "Thai",
          "roman": "cnkẁā",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "จนกว่า"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "tags": [
            "suffix",
            "verb"
          ],
          "word": "-mezse"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "jakščó ne",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "якщо́ не"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "xiba ščo",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "хіба що"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "trừ phi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "trừ khi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "oni"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "84 1 15",
          "code": "yi",
          "lang": "Yiddish",
          "roman": "saydn",
          "sense": "except on a specified condition",
          "word": "סײַדן"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "10 46 44",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1159, John of Salisbury, Policraticus, edited by Cary J. Nederman, Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 3 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Who would know of Alexander or Caesar, or would respect the Stoics or the Peripatetics, unless they had been distinguished by the memorials of writers?"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1867, William Robinson Pirie, Natural Theology: An Inquiry Into the Fundamental Principles of Religious, Moral, and Political Science, page 75 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Unless He were omnipotent, we could not be sure of His ability to bless us."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If not; used with counterfactual conditionals."
      ],
      "id": "en-unless-en-conj-FDWa6ddq"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "10 46 44",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1809, The Naval Chronicle for 1809: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects. Vol. XXII. (from July to December), Cambridge University Press, 2010, page 482 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Q. If Lieutenant P. had given the word \"Fire,\" would you have fired, and at what?—A. I should not have known, unless he had told me what to fire at."
        },
        {
          "ref": "1847, Emily Brontë, chapter III, in Wuthering Heights",
          "text": "Lie down and finish out the night, since you are here; but, for heaven's sake! don't repeat that horrid noise: nothing could excuse it, unless you were having your throat cut!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1981, Arthur C. Danto, The Transfiguration of the Commonplace: A Philosophy of Art, page 118 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Suppose Breugel had done the whole painting with no legs. Then, titled as it is, it would be mystifying, unless someone were to say: the boy has fallen in the waters and they have closed over him, calm is restored, life goes on (as in The Israelites Crossing the Red Sea)."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Except if; used with hypothetical conditionals."
      ],
      "id": "en-unless-en-conj-d5ae5vud"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ənˈlɛs/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ʌnˈlɛs/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛs"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-unless.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e8/En-us-unless.ogg/En-us-unless.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/En-us-unless.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "word": "unlesse"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0",
      "word": "unlessen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "unless"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "except on a condition",
      "word": "if"
    }
  ],
  "categories": [
    "English 2-syllable words",
    "English conjunctions",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛs",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛs/2 syllables"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "precisely unless"
    },
    {
      "word": "unlesss"
    },
    {
      "word": "unless and until"
    },
    {
      "word": "until and unless"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "onlesse, from on lesse, from \"on a less condition\".",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "unless",
      "name": "en-con"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "conj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I’m leaving unless I get a pay rise.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "You can't go out unless it stops raining.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1839, Denison Olmsted, A Compendium of Astronomy, page 95",
          "text": "Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, Dr. Seuss, The Lorax",
          "text": "Unless someone like you...cares a whole awful lot...nothing is going to get better...It's not.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Except on a specified condition; if not."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Except",
          "except"
        ],
        [
          "specified",
          "specified"
        ],
        [
          "condition",
          "condition"
        ],
        [
          "if",
          "if"
        ],
        [
          "not",
          "not"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1159, John of Salisbury, Policraticus, edited by Cary J. Nederman, Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 3 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Who would know of Alexander or Caesar, or would respect the Stoics or the Peripatetics, unless they had been distinguished by the memorials of writers?"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1867, William Robinson Pirie, Natural Theology: An Inquiry Into the Fundamental Principles of Religious, Moral, and Political Science, page 75 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Unless He were omnipotent, we could not be sure of His ability to bless us."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If not; used with counterfactual conditionals."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1809, The Naval Chronicle for 1809: Containing a General and Biographical History of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom with a Variety of Original Papers on Nautical Subjects. Vol. XXII. (from July to December), Cambridge University Press, 2010, page 482 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Q. If Lieutenant P. had given the word \"Fire,\" would you have fired, and at what?—A. I should not have known, unless he had told me what to fire at."
        },
        {
          "ref": "1847, Emily Brontë, chapter III, in Wuthering Heights",
          "text": "Lie down and finish out the night, since you are here; but, for heaven's sake! don't repeat that horrid noise: nothing could excuse it, unless you were having your throat cut!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1981, Arthur C. Danto, The Transfiguration of the Commonplace: A Philosophy of Art, page 118 (Google Books view)",
          "text": "Suppose Breugel had done the whole painting with no legs. Then, titled as it is, it would be mystifying, unless someone were to say: the boy has fallen in the waters and they have closed over him, calm is restored, life goes on (as in The Israelites Crossing the Red Sea)."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Except if; used with hypothetical conditionals."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ənˈlɛs/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ʌnˈlɛs/"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛs"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-unless.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/e/e8/En-us-unless.ogg/En-us-unless.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/En-us-unless.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (US)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "word": "unlesse"
    },
    {
      "word": "unlessen"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "af",
      "lang": "Afrikaans",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "tensy"
    },
    {
      "code": "sq",
      "lang": "Albanian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "po të mos"
    },
    {
      "code": "am",
      "lang": "Amharic",
      "roman": "bästäḳär",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "በስተቀር"
    },
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "ʔillā",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "إِلَّا"
    },
    {
      "code": "syc",
      "lang": "Aramaic",
      "roman": "ʾellā",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Syriac"
      ],
      "word": "ܐܠܐ"
    },
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "roman": "etʿe čʿ-",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "եթե չ-"
    },
    {
      "code": "az",
      "lang": "Azerbaijani",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "əgər"
    },
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "salbu"
    },
    {
      "code": "be",
      "lang": "Belarusian",
      "roman": "kalí nje",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "калі́ не"
    },
    {
      "code": "bn",
      "english": "na hole",
      "lang": "Bengali",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "না হলে"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "osven ako",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "освен ако"
    },
    {
      "code": "my",
      "lang": "Burmese",
      "roman": "ma.huthlyang",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "မဟုတ်လျှင်"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "a menys que"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "llevat que"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "tret que"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "fora que"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "tret que"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "roman": "ceoi⁴ fei¹",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "除非"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "chúfēi",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "除非"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "dokud ne"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "medmindre"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "word": "undtagen"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "tenzij"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "kondiĉe ke ... ne"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "kui ei"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "ellei"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "jollei"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "à moins que"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "sauf si"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "roman": "tu ar",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "თუ არ"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "wenn nicht"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "es sei denn"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "ektós an",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "εκτός αν"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "pará móno an",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "παρά μόνο αν"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "roman": "ei mḗ",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "εἰ μή"
    },
    {
      "code": "gu",
      "lang": "Gujarati",
      "roman": "jyā̃ sudhī",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "જ્યાં સુધી"
    },
    {
      "code": "haw",
      "lang": "Hawaiian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "ke ole"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "ilmalé",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "tags": [
        "formal"
      ],
      "word": "אלמלא"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "ela im ken",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "אלא אם כן"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "roman": "jab tak",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "जब तक"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "hacsak nem"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "kivéve ha"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "csak ha"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "nema"
    },
    {
      "code": "id",
      "lang": "Indonesian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "kecuali"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "mura"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "a meno che"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "se non"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "moshi ... de nakereba",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "もし...でなければ"
    },
    {
      "code": "km",
      "lang": "Khmer",
      "roman": "luh traa tae",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "លុះត្រាតែ"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "...i animyeon",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "...이 아니면"
    },
    {
      "code": "ckb",
      "lang": "Central Kurdish",
      "roman": "meger",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "مەگەر"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "nisi"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "melainkan"
    },
    {
      "code": "ml",
      "lang": "Malayalam",
      "roman": "allāte",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "അല്ലാതെ"
    },
    {
      "code": "mt",
      "lang": "Maltese",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "kemm-il darba"
    },
    {
      "code": "mi",
      "lang": "Maori",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "māna"
    },
    {
      "code": "mn",
      "lang": "Mongolian",
      "roman": "ügüj bol",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "үгүй бол"
    },
    {
      "code": "zdj",
      "lang": "Ngazidja Comorian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "illa"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "hvis ikke"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "med mindre"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "med mindre"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "minders"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "minder"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "mens que"
    },
    {
      "code": "ang",
      "lang": "Old English",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "būtan"
    },
    {
      "code": "non",
      "lang": "Old Norse",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "nema"
    },
    {
      "code": "ps",
      "lang": "Pashto",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "پرته لدې چې"
    },
    {
      "code": "fa",
      "lang": "Persian",
      "roman": "magar inke",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "مگر اینکه"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "chyba że"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "a menos que"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "a não ser que"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "cu excepția cazului în"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "jésli ne",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "е́сли не"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "rázve što",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "ра́зве что"
    },
    {
      "code": "rw",
      "lang": "Rwanda-Rundi",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "keretse"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "osim ako"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "ukoliko ne"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "ako ne"
    },
    {
      "code": "si",
      "lang": "Sinhalese",
      "roman": "nam misa",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "නම් මිස"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "razen če"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "a menos que"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "a no ser que"
    },
    {
      "alt": "(+ subjunctive)",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "salvo"
    },
    {
      "alt": "(+ subjunctive)",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "como no"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "såvida ej"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "såvida inte"
    },
    {
      "code": "ta",
      "lang": "Tamil",
      "roman": "tavira",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "தவிர"
    },
    {
      "code": "tt",
      "lang": "Tatar",
      "roman": "mägär",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "мәгәр"
    },
    {
      "code": "te",
      "lang": "Telugu",
      "roman": "tappa",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "తప్ప"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "roman": "wêntæ̀",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "เว้นแต่"
    },
    {
      "code": "th",
      "lang": "Thai",
      "roman": "cnkẁā",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "จนกว่า"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "tags": [
        "suffix",
        "verb"
      ],
      "word": "-mezse"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "jakščó ne",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "якщо́ не"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "xiba ščo",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "хіба що"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "trừ phi"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "trừ khi"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "oni"
    },
    {
      "code": "yi",
      "lang": "Yiddish",
      "roman": "saydn",
      "sense": "except on a specified condition",
      "word": "סײַדן"
    }
  ],
  "word": "unless"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (fc4f0c7 and c937495). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.