Skip to main content
unpierced

unpierced

6.0
Not having a hole made through it
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈpɪərst/
translation icon : sin perforar
  • Many children choose unpierced earrings that clip on without any need for holes in their ears.

Examples

  • "Unpierced meat is finer than these harpooned offerings," the coachman told the innkeeper.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Of course, after the first ear, she also begged to be allowed to leave the second one unpierced, but my wife (and her mother) insisted on symmetry.

    Blog text (7)
  • She prefers to wear earrings made for unpierced ears instead of getting her ears pierced.

  • For those with unpierced ears, there are stylish options like clip-on earrings available in stores.

Synonyms

unpunctured
vsunpierced
5.6

Not having a hole that lets air or water out

is about having no hole or opening rather than broader entry or effect
unperforated
vsunpierced
7.0

A thing that has no holes through it

is about lack of any hole or opening made by an object
unpenetrated
vsunpierced
9.4

Not entered or passed through by people

is narrower referring only to absence of physical holes or openings
unpunched
vsunpierced
6.5

Not stamped or marked to show it is valid

refers to physical lack of holes rather than missing official validation

Antonyms

3.4

With a hole through it often to wear jewelry or for medical reasons

How Pierced

perforated
1 4.3
punctured
3.5
pierced
3.4
unpierced
6.0

Surface Forms

unpierced positive

Morphology

unpierced = pierced (transparent) = un + pierce + ed

The negative prefix 'un-' is productively applied to the adjective 'pierced' (pierce + -ed), so the meaning 'not pierced' is directly and predictably derived.

Etymology

The word unpierced has the prefix un- meaning 'not' and the verb pierce meaning 'to make a hole'. So something unpierced simply has 'not' had a hole made in it — like an ear before a piercing or an envelope without a hole.