un-American

adjective

un-Amer·​i·​can ˌən-ə-ˈmer-ə-kən How to pronounce un-American (audio)
: not American : not characteristic of or consistent with American customs, principles, or traditions

Examples of un-American in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web For example, electric battery and vehicle manufacturing, as well as solar and wind power generation, offer quality jobs with attractive wages, around 45% of which require only a high school diploma. U.S. leadership Denial leads to delay and delay is fundamentally un-American. Ed Farrington, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024 But the questions also strayed into attempts to simply highlight TikTok’s un-American origins, culminating in Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) pressing Chew aggressively and repetitively on his citizenship — which, it’s widely known, is Singaporean. Adi Robertson, The Verge, 31 Jan. 2024 Willfully electing a dictator to the presidency is the most un-American thing a citizen can do. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024 Indeed, the party currently controlling the White House has ignored or even supported two deeply un-American actions in Colorado and Maine, with few exceptions. Sen. Deb Fischer, Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2024 Since that decidedly un-American Turkey Day, Perrotti and her family have celebrated Thanksgiving in Barcelona, Jordan, Istanbul and Mexico. Sebastian Modak, WSJ, 17 Nov. 2023 The same practices—treating communities of color as suspicious and potentially un-American, surveilling anti-racist movements while standing aside during escalating white supremacist violence—have continued. TIME, 10 Oct. 2023 His strategy of painting political rivals as illegitimate and un-American has—for the better part of a decade—chipped away at social and democratic norms that titans of jurisprudence have—for more than a century—called indispensable to a functioning democracy. Dell Cameron, WIRED, 25 Aug. 2023 Look, there's almost no idea more un-American than the idea that any one person could choose which votes to count for president of the United States. Nbc Universal, NBC News, 13 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'un-American.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of un-American was in 1818

Dictionary Entries Near un-American

Cite this Entry

“Un-American.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/un-American. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

un-American

adjective
un-Amer·​i·​can
ˌən-ə-ˈmer-ə-kən
: not American
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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