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Glite Dictionary
👶 Not taken in 🚫 Not accepted
unadopted

unadopted

1 5.6
Not legally part of a family
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnəˈdɑːptɪd/
translation icon : no adoptado
  • Many unwanted puppies remain unadopted in shelters for months.
  • an unadopted child

Examples

  • Despite their friendly nature, many cats stay unadopted because they are older.

  • Someone told us we could sign papers with you people to have her unadopted!

    Fiction book (1996)

  • If the vast majority of Christians, Muslims, and Jews were not hypocrites, then while we'd still have unemployment, we wouldn't have hungry people, homeless people, or unadopted children in this country.

    Blog text (12)

  • The campaign aimed to raise awareness about the plight of unadopted children in foster care.

Antonyms

adopted
3.1

A country, city, or home that someone chooses and treats as their own

How Adopted

adopted
3.1
unadopted
1 5.6

Surface Forms

unadopted positive

Morphology

unadopted = adopted (transparent) = un + adopt + ed

The adjective is formed by adding un- to 'adopted' (adopt + -ed), yielding the simple negation 'not legally adopted'.

Etymology

Unadopted comes from un- 'not' plus adopt 'to take into a family', the same idea you use when you 'adopt' a pet or child. So an unadopted child or animal is one that was 'not taken into a family' or given legal adoption.