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Glite Dictionary
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unfired

unfired

1 4.8
A bullet or cartridge that has not been shot
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈfaɪərd/
translation icon : sin disparar
  • The police discovered an unfired cartridge hidden in the bushes near the abandoned building.
  • an unfired bullet

Examples

  • OK, you start with a live cat, an unfired gun, you for unfired.

  • The pistol skittered away, unfired.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The missiles remained in the underwing carriages, unfired.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The evidence included an unfired bullet found at the crime scene, suggesting it had never been used.

  • During the investigation, they identified an unfired shell that could potentially link the suspect to the shooting.

Synonyms

undischarged
vsunfired
  • Specialized
7.7

A bullet or shell that has not been fired and can still explode

is a general term that does not imply explosive danger
unshot
vsunfired
8.7

Not hit by a bullet or other weapon

focuses on the weapon not having been used rather than on being hit

Antonyms

shot
∞ 2.3

Firing a bullet or explosive from a weapon

How Fired

fired
2.2
unfired
1 4.8

Surface Forms

unfired positive

Morphology

unfired = fired (transparent) = un + fire + ed

Un- negates the adjectival past participle 'fired' (weapon sense), so the meaning is directly inferable as 'not discharged'.

Etymology

Unfired starts with un- meaning 'not' and the fired part comes from fire, which can mean 'to shoot'. So unfired here means 'not shot', like a bullet that has not been fired from a gun.