unique

unique — adjective

1. When something is unique, it is the single example of its type in existence — no

1.adjectiveA2
Definition

When something is unique, it is the single example of its type in existence — no other thing is exactly like it in any way.

Example

The painting hanging in the museum is a unique artwork by a little-known artist.

Each person has a unique pattern of fingerprints that no one else shares.

collocation: unique pattern / unique feature

Common collocations
  • absolutely unique
  • truly unique
  • quite unique
  • unique experience
  • unique opportunity
  • unique feature
Synonyms
  • singular

    slightly more formal; emphasises that something stands apart from all others

  • unparalleled

    stronger — suggests nothing else even comes close in quality

  • exclusive

    focuses on belonging to only one person or group, not on being one of a kind

  • one-of-a-kind

    more informal and conversational than 'unique'

Antonyms
  • common

    found or happening frequently; the opposite of rare or special

  • ordinary

    not special, different, or unusual in any way

Usage Note

Traditionally, 'unique' is considered an absolute adjective — something is either unique or it is not. In formal writing, avoid strengthening it with 'very', 'most', or 'quite'. However, in everyday informal English, people often use 'unique' to mean 'very unusual' and do add such modifiers.

Common Mistakes

This is a very unique design.
This is a truly unique design.
Some style guides consider 'very unique' illogical because unique means 'the only one'; use 'truly' or 'absolutely' instead if you mean 'completely one of a kind'.

2. When a characteristic is unique to someone or something, that characteristic bel

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

When a characteristic is unique to someone or something, that characteristic belongs only to that individual, location, or circumstance and cannot be discovered anywhere else on earth.

Example

This species of bird is unique to the eastern coast of Taiwan.

grammar: unique to + [place]

The problems that face island communities are unique to their geography.

Common collocations
  • unique to a region
  • unique to a species
  • unique to an individual
  • not unique to
  • largely unique to
  • problems unique to
Synonyms
  • peculiar to

    more formal; often used in academic writing about characteristics of a group

  • specific to

    emphasises that something applies to a particular thing and not others

  • exclusive to

    stresses that only one person or group has access to or experiences something

Antonyms
  • universal

    applying to everyone or everything everywhere; the opposite of being limited to one

  • common to

    found or shared by many people, places, or things

Grammar Patterns

unique + to + [noun phrase]

Usage Note

This sense is almost always followed by the preposition 'to' (unique to + person/place/situation). Do not use 'for' or 'of' in place of 'to'. Unlike sense 1, this sense is naturally comparative — something can be 'unique to' one place but not to another, so using modifiers like 'largely unique to' is acceptable.

Common Mistakes

This problem is unique for our city.
This problem is unique to our city.
The correct preposition after 'unique' in this sense is 'to', not 'for' or 'of'.

Word family

  • uniquely
    adverbB2
  • uniqueness
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Unique' is the broadest word — it can mean either 'the only one of its kind' or simply 'very unusual'. 'Singular' is a more formal choice that draws attention to something being noticeably different from everything else ('a singular achievement'). 'Unparalleled' is the strongest — it says nothing else in any comparison comes close, usually in quality or merit ('unparalleled beauty'). 'Exclusive' shifts the focus from rarity to restricted access — something that belongs to or is limited to one person or group ('exclusive access'). 'One-of-a-kind' is the everyday informal equivalent of 'unique' and is more common in conversation than in writing. For example: 'Her singing style is unique.' is neutral. 'Her singing style is one-of-a-kind.' sounds warmer and more enthusiastic.

singular ↗unparalleled ↗exclusive ↗one-of-a-kind

Common collocations

Nouns

  • unique feature
  • unique opportunity
  • unique identity
  • unique style
  • unique experience
  • unique position
  • unique character
  • unique quality

Adverbs

  • completely unique
  • truly unique
  • absolutely unique
  • quite unique
  • almost unique
  • fairly unique

Phrases

Prepositions

  • unique to

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

'Unique' entered English in the early 1600s from French 'unique', which came from Latin 'unicus', meaning 'only, single, alone of its kind'. The Latin root 'unus' means 'one'. For most of its history in English, 'unique' meant only 'the sole existing example'. The looser meaning of 'remarkable' or 'unusual' developed in the 1800s and is now very common in everyday speech, though some style guides still prefer the stricter sense in formal writing.