adjective

unilateral

y-nih-LAT-uh-r

adjective

Undertaken by only one side or party, without agreement from others involved.

"The country made a unilateral decision to withdraw its troops."

"Critics accused the CEO of making unilateral changes without consulting the board."

How to Use Unilateral

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishDone by just one side, without the input or agreement of the other parties involved.

Common mistake

Often contrasted with "bilateral" (two sides) and "multilateral" (many sides) in political and legal contexts.

Easily confused with

bilateral → multilateral

Common pairings

unilateral decision unilateral action unilateral ceasefire

more unilateral comparative, most unilateral superlative

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The country made a _____ decision to withdraw its troops.

Coined around 1802 from New Latin unilateralis, from Latin unus ("one") + lateralis ("sided").

one-sided

feral general liberal funeral lateral mineral federal several visceral ephemeral bilateral collateral

one-sided