I. ˌən, often ˈən before ˈ- stressed syllable prefix
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German un- un-, Latin in-, Greek a-, an-, Old English ne not — more at no
1. : not : in- , non- — in adjectives formed from adjectives
un ambitious
un skilled
or participles
un dressed
in nouns formed from nouns
un availability
and rarely in verbs formed from verbs
un be
— sometimes in words that have a meaning that merely negates that of the base word and are thereby distinguished from words that prefix in- or a variant of it (as im- ) to the same base word and have a meaning positively opposite to that of the base word
un artistic
un moral
2. : opposite of : contrary to — in adjectives formed from adjectives
un constitutional
un graceful
un mannered
or participles
un believing
and in nouns formed from nouns
un rest
II. prefix
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English un-, on-, alteration of and- against — more at ante-
1. : do the opposite of : reverse (a specified action) : de- 1a, dis- 1a — in verbs formed from verbs
un bend
un dress
un fold
2.
a. : deprive of : remove (a specified thing) from : remove — in verbs formed from nouns
un frock
un sex
b. : release from : free from — in verbs formed from nouns
un hand
c. : remove from : extract from : bring out of — in verbs formed from nouns
un bosom
d. : cause to cease to be — in verbs formed from nouns
un man
3. : completely
un loose