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undelivered

undelivered

3 4.2
Not sent to the person or place it should reach
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌndɪˈlɪvərd/
: no entregado
  • "Now would you please hand over the undelivered mail in your possession?" Doug shook his head.
  • undelivered mail
  • undelivered letters
  • undelivered checks

Examples

  • The post office reported that there were several undelivered packages due to incorrect addresses.

  • It is against the law for you to retain undelivered items.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • So after three years, there was a lot of undelivered mail.

  • - It was full of undelivered packages.

  • The electric blanket I had sent her came back undelivered.

  • In the central post office, mail lies undelivered; at the latest count, five million letters and parcels are waiting.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • His papers sat in a bundle on the porch, undelivered.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Not to worry, he said; she could read the undelivered drafts when she returned to North Carolina.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • "She seals the bag and puts it on the bookshelf next to undelivered gifts, small garden tools, and a box of candles."

    Fiction book (2000)
  • After the storm, many residents found undelivered mail piled up in their mailboxes.

Synonyms

undeliverable
vsundelivered
2 4.2

Not able to be delivered to the person or place it should reach

is the general case of items not sent, given, or received as intended
unreceived
vsundelivered
1 7.1

Something that does not reach the person or place it was sent to

is broader, covering failure to be sent, given, or accepted as intended
unshipped
vsundelivered
1 4.9

Not yet sent to the person who ordered it

is used more broadly, including items that were sent but not received

How Delivered

undelivered
3 4.2
unsent
1 5.3

Surface Forms

undelivered positive

Morphology

undelivered = delivered (transparent) = un + deliver + ed

Meaning is directly derived from 'delivered' (past participle of 'deliver') with the productive negative prefix 'un-': 'not delivered'.

Etymology

Undelivered is built from un- 'not' and deliver 'to give or send'. Think of a parcel or email that never reached the person — it was 'not sent' or 'not given', which is exactly what undelivered means.