Standard Lemma guide

unborn

adj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)n
  • CMU ARPABET: AH1 N B AO1 R N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not yet born; yet to come; future.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Not yet delivered; still existing in the mother's womb.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Existing without birth or beginning.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A single unborn offspring at any stage of gestation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Unborn offspring collectively.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Inheritance law allows property to be left to the unborn.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective

Meaning 6

not yet brought into existence

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unborn generations

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: born

History

Etymology

From Middle English unborn, from Old English unboren, from Proto-Germanic *unburanaz. Equivalent to un- + born.

Across languages

Translations

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: нероден (neroden) — not born
  • Catalan: nonat — not born
  • Chinese Mandarin: 未出生的 (wèi chūshēng de) — not born
  • Danish: ufødt — not born
  • Dutch: ongeboren — not born
  • Finnish: syntymätön — not born
  • German: ungeboren — not born
  • Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌰𐌽𐍃 (unbaurans) — not born
  • Greek: αγέννητος (agénnitos) — not born
  • Ancient Greek: ἀγενής (agenḗs) — not born
  • Italian: nascituro — not born
  • Japanese: まだ生まれていない (mada umarete inai) — not born
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ufødt — not born
  • Old English: unboren — not born
  • Portuguese: futuro — not born
  • Russian: нерождённый (neroždjónnyj) — not born
  • Russian: нероди́вшийся (nerodívšijsja) — not born
  • Swedish: ofödd — not born
  • Ukrainian: ненаро́джений (nenaródženyj) — not born
  • Catalan: nonat — still in mother's womb
  • Czech: nenarozený — still in mother's womb
  • Danish: ufødt — still in mother's womb
  • Dutch: ongeboren — still in mother's womb
  • Finnish: syntymätön — still in mother's womb
  • French: à naître — still in mother's womb
  • German: ungeboren — still in mother's womb
  • Greek: αγέννητος (agénnitos) — still in mother's womb
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ufødt — still in mother's womb
  • Old English: unboren — still in mother's womb
  • Portuguese: não-nascido — still in mother's womb
  • Swedish: ofödd — still in mother's womb
  • Ukrainian: ненаро́джений (nenaródženyj) — still in mother's womb
  • Catalan: nonat — without beginning
  • Greek: αγέννητος (agénnitos) — without beginning