Definitions for unless
ʌnˈlɛs, ən-un·less

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. unlessconjunction

   Except on a specified condition; if not.

   I'm leaving unless I get a pay rise.

2. Etymology: onlesse, from on lesse, from on a less condition (on became un-)

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Unlessconjunct.

   Except; if not; supposing that not.

   Let us not say, we keep the commandments of the one, when we break the commandments of the other: for, unless we observe both, we obey neither. Richard Hooker.

   Unless I look on Sylvia in the day,
   There is no day for me to look upon. William Shakespeare.

   What hidden strength,
   Unless the strength of heav’n, if you mean that. John Milton.

   For sure I am, unless I win in arms,
   To stand excluded from Emilia’s charms;
   Nor can my strength avail, unless by thee,
   Endu’d with force, I gain the victory. Dryden.

   The commendation of adversaries is the greatest triumph of a writer, because it never comes unless extorted. Dryden.

   No poet ever sweetly sung,
   Unless he were, like Phœbus, young;
   Nor ever nymph inspir’d to rhyme,
   Unless, like Venus, in her prime. Jonathan Swift.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Unless

   Unless is the final novel by Canadian writer Carol Shields, first published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins in 2002. Semi-autobiographical, it was the capstone to Shields's writing career: she died shortly after its publication in 2003. The work was widely acclaimed and nominated for the Booker Prize, the Giller Prize, the Governor General's Award, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and received the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In 2011, it was a finalist in the Canada Reads competition, where it was defended by actor Lorne Cardinal. Like many of her works (especially The Stone Diaries), Unless explores the extraordinary that lies within the ordinary lives of ordinary women. The novel is narrated in first person by 44-year-old writer and translator, Reta Winters. The book proceeds as a linear series of reflections by Reta, elliptically coming to the thematic center of the story: the seemingly arbitrary decision of Reta's college-aged daughter Norah to drop out of university and live on the street with a cardboard sign affixed to her chest that reads "Goodness". Although the novel does not in any way proceed like a mystery, the reasons for Norah's departure from the normal world are Reta's primary motivation in writing. In parallel, her relationship with her French mentor (a Holocaust survivor and poet) drives much of her narration and view of herself. The novel deals extensively with the role of women and in particular, women's literature. Late in the novel, Reta starts to break from herself and write in character as a disenfranchised female writer. The underlying theme is that the lives of women are underwritten, ignored, and dealt with as "trivial" by the literary establishment. The novel also functions largely as an investigation into the role of writing in general (independent of gender). Reta's grief over her daughter's state makes her very inwardly focussed on the process of writing. A reflection of this is shown in the title of the book and the chapter titles. "Unless" and the chapter titles ("therefore", "else", "instead") are all words that are used to couch the fragmented manner in which life fits together. As Shields writes, "A life is full of isolated events, but these events, if they are to form a coherent narrative, require odd pieces of language to link them together, little chips of grammar (mostly adverbs or prepositions) that are hard to define [...] words like therefore, else, other, also, thereof, therefore, instead, otherwise, despite, already, and not yet." The novel was adapted into the 2016 film Unless, which stars Catherine Keener as Reta and Hannah Gross as Norah.On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed Unless on its list of the 100 most influential novels.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Unless

   upon any less condition than (the fact or thing stated in the sentence or clause which follows); if not; supposing that not; if it be not; were it not that; except; as, we shall fail unless we are industrious

FreebaseRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Unless

   Unless, first published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of Harper Collins in 2002, is the final novel by Canadian writer Carol Shields. Semi-autobiographical, it was the capstone to Shields's writing career: she died shortly after its publication in 2003. The work was widely acclaimed and nominated for the Booker Prize, the Giller Prize, the Governor General's Award, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and received the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. In 2011, it was a finalist in the Canada Reads competition, where it was defended by actor Lorne Cardinal. Like many of her works, Unless explores the extraordinary that lies within the ordinary lives of ordinary women. The novel is narrated in first person by 44-year old writer and translator, Reta Winters. The book proceeds as a linear series of reflections by Reta, elliptically coming to the thematic center of the story: the seemingly arbitrary decision of Reta's college-aged daughter Norah to drop out of university and live on the street with a cardboard sign affixed to her chest that reads "Goodness". Although the novel does not in any way proceed like a mystery, the reasons for Norah's departure from the normal world are Reta's primary motivation in writing. In parallel, her relationship with her French mentor drives much of her narration and view of herself.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Unless

   un-les′, conj. at or for less: if not: supposing that not: save, except. [Formerly on les, on lesse, in phrase on lesse that, in less than.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'unless' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #967

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'unless' in Written Corpus Frequency: #680

How to pronounce unless?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say unless in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of unless in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of unless in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of unless in a Sentence

1. Lucius Annaeus Seneca:

   An action will not be right unless the will be right for from thence is the action derived. Again, the will will not be right unless the disposition of the mind be right for from thence comes the will.

2. Felix Adler:

   The unique personality which is the real life in me, I can not gain unless I search for the real life, the spiritual quality, in others. I am myself spiritually dead unless I reach out to the fine quality dormant in others. For it is only with the god enthroned in the innermost shrine of the other, that the god hidden in me, will consent to appear.

3. Kathy Seligman:

   You can't hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can't catch a fish unless you put your line in the water. You can't reach your goals if you don't try.

4. Abraham J. Herschel:

   Life is not meaningful to us unless serving an end beyond itself, unless it is of value to someone else.

5. Vernon Hill:

   It's almost impossible to do a new bank unless you have one of these packaged IT systems. That had never been done in Britain and Metro Bank would never have happened unless we were successful in arranging to get that done.

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