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unreferenced

unreferenced

7.9
A piece of memory in a program that no part points to so it cannot be used
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnˈrɛfərənst/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sin referencia
  • If a variable is unreferenced, it may be removed by the garbage collector.

Examples

  • The function left several objects unreferenced, causing a memory leak in the application.

  • After the process ended, the allocated memory remained unreferenced and was not reclaimed.

  • The variable was unreferenced in the code.

  • Why is this data unreferenced?

  • If a variable is unreferenced, it may be removed by the garbage collector.

  • The function left several objects unreferenced, causing a memory leak in the application.

  • After the process ended, the allocated memory remained unreferenced and was not reclaimed.

Antonyms

referenced
  • Formal
4.9

A text with notes that show where information comes from

Surface Forms

unreferenced positive

Morphology

unreferenced = referenced (semi-transparent) = un + refer + ed

The negation prefix 'un-' is attached to the participial/adjectival form 'referenced', yielding the literal meaning 'not referenced'.

Etymology

Unreferenced breaks into un- ('not') and refer ('to point to' or 'show where something is'). In programming, think of an unreferenced object as one 'no one points to', so it is unreachable and may be removed by the garbage collector.