Unborn

adj, noun

adj, noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A single unborn offspring at any stage of gestation. countable

    "Whereas the lack of a child brings shame upon Anna and Joachim, the converse holds true for Mary: the existence of an unborn in the womb of a woman who is supposed to be a virgin causes great scandal."

  2. 2
    Unborn offspring collectively. uncountable

    "Inheritance law allows property to be left to the unborn."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not yet born; yet to come; future. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Not yet delivered; still existing in the mother's womb. not-comparable

    "Ellen Page gives a star-making performance as a 16-year-old live wire who decides to go through with her pregnancy and seeks acceptably well-adjusted, wealthy, punk-rock loving parents for the unborn baby."

  3. 3
    Existing without birth or beginning. not-comparable
Adjective
  1. 1
    not yet brought into existence wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
comingfuturehereafterunhatchedunmadeunyeaned

Antonyms

All antonyms
born

Example

More examples

"Mary had an ultrasound to find out the sex of her and Tom's unborn baby."

Etymology

From Middle English unborn, from Old English unboren, from Proto-Germanic *unburanaz. Equivalent to un- + born.

Related phrases

innocent as the babe unborninnocent as the child unbornunborn child

More for "unborn"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.