What does "unitary" mean?
A unitary council.
Unitary
adj, noun
adj, noun ·4 syllables ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A unitary council.
- Grammar: unitary is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: a certain, an, any, any one.
- Useful contrasts: confederal, academic federation, decentralized.
- Usage evidence: There are eight gluons. Six--modulo superposition--are sensible color-anticolor color swappers. The other two are fathomless mixtures that can only be described as the remaining linearly independent elements of the group of three-by-three complex unitary matrices with determinant one.
How to use "unitary"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "unitary" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "unitary" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "unitary" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "unitary" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "unitary" is acting as adj, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "a certain" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "unitary", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A unitary council. UK
"Outside the metropolitan areas most councils (English and Welsh counties, London boroughs, Scottish and Welsh unitaries, and Northern Ireland districts) are now elected en bloc every four years."
- 2 A unitary matrix or operator.
"1980, Michael Reed, Barry Simon, Methods of Modern Mathematical Physics, Volume 1: Functional Analysis, Revised and Expanded Edition page 243, Since ergodicity and mixing are expressible in terms of the induced Koopman unitaries they are not additional invariants."
Adjective
- 1 Having the quality of oneness.
"If yes–no questions are CPs containing a null yes–no question operator (a null counterpart of whether) in spec-CP, we can arrive at a unitary characterisation of questions as CPs with an interrogative specifier."
- 2 That concentrates power in a single body, rather than sharing it with more local bodies.
"a unitary authority"
- 3 That contains an identity element.
- 4 Whose inverse is equal to its adjoint.
"The eigenvectors of an orthogonal or unitary operator, corresponding to different eigenvalues, are orthogonal."
Adjective
- 1 characterized by or constituting a form of government in which power is held by one central authority wordnet
- 2 having the indivisible character of a unit wordnet
- 3 of or pertaining to or involving the use of units wordnet
- 4 relating to or characterized by or aiming toward unity wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"There are eight gluons. Six--modulo superposition--are sensible color-anticolor color swappers. The other two are fathomless mixtures that can only be described as the remaining linearly independent elements of the group of three-by-three complex unitary matrices with determinant one."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "unitary"?
Common synonyms include: a certain, an, any, any one, atomic, authoritarian.
How do you use "unitary" in a sentence?
There are eight gluons. Six--modulo superposition--are sensible color-anticolor color swappers. The other two are fathomless mixtures that can only be described as the remaining linearly independent elements of the group of three-by-three complex unitary matrices with determinant one.
Etymology
From unit + -ary.