Words Starting With UN

UN- Words: The Prefix That Negates Everything

Attach UN- to almost any adjective or verb, and you get its opposite. UNABLE, UNDO, UNFAIR, UNLIKE — the pattern is so productive that the UN- section of any dictionary is enormous. What makes this interesting for word games is that UN- words are both common enough to guess and long enough to cover bonus squares. In Scrabble, an 8-letter UN- word across two triple-word squares can clear 100 points easily, and the tiles involved (U=1, N=1) cost almost nothing from your rack.

For crossword constructors, UN- is a workhorse. Need a seven-letter fill meaning "not typical"? UNUSUAL. A nine-letter word for "not expected"? UNPLANNED. The prefix creates answers at every length, which is why you'll see UN- words multiple times in a single Sunday puzzle. One fact worth noting: UN- as a prefix dates back to Old English, making it one of the oldest productive word-building tools in the language. It predates RE- and even OUT- as a negation device. Players working on crosswords with negative-meaning clues should try the solver above. Also worth checking: words starting with E for another high-volume letter group, and words ending in E for the final-letter pattern that overlaps heavily with UN- derivatives like UNLIKE, UNWISE, and UNSAFE.

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