unjustadj.n.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈdʒʌst/, U.S. /ˌənˈdʒəst/ A. adj.
1. Not fair or equitable.
a. That does not observe the principles of justice or fair dealing; not acting justly, fairly, or impartially, esp. in administering justice; not behaving in an equitable manner with regard to a person or thing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unjustness > [adjective]
unrighteOE
unrightfulOE
wrongousa1200
wrongfulc1311
unevenc1380
unjustc1384
untrue1393
injustc1430
unreasonablec1440
unduec1450
inique1521
unequal1535
wry1561
undeserved?c1570
justless1578
unrighted1608
unequitable1643
inequitable1667
unfair1724
iniquitablea1734
unsportsmanlike1754
unsportsmanly1776
unsporting1859
below the belt1892
red-hot1896
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unjustness > [adjective] > of person
wrongousa1200
unjustc1384
unevenc1475
unequal1588
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [adjective] > specifically of persons
wrongousa1200
unjustc1384
unduea1400
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Heb. vi. 10 Sothli God is not vniust [L. iniustus], that he forȝete ȝoure workis.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 2533 (MED) Ful often sithe it is wist and seen, That for þe wrong and þe vnryghtwisnesse Of kynges mynistres, þat kynges bene Holden gilty..Vniust mynistres ofte hir kyng accusen, And thei þat iust ben, of wrong hem excusen.
1549 J. Cheke Hurt of Sedicion sig. C1v Shal they be thought not vniust, who..misu[s]eth and wasteth the same vngodlye?
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 400 An vniust and vnprofitable Prince.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) v. i. 297 The Duke's vniust, Thus to retort your manifest Appeale. View more context for this quotation
1664 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Verney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) II. 208 You would bee very unjust to your sonne.
1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. i. 24 [Men] are as often unjust to themselves as to others.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 56 He saw his people..avaricious, arrogant, unjust.
1837 in K. Laybourn Brit. Trade Unionism (1991) 41 The unjust and cruel judge..ordered us to be tried for mutiny, and conspiracy.
1874 J. Parker Paraclete xix. 357 To compare the universal with the limited is to be unjust to both.
1931 Manch. Guardian 15 June 16/5 Aitken in his desire to be fair to his opponents has been unjust to his friends.
2011 R. Anderson Ethics vii. 82 The invasion of Iraq in 2003..was often cast in the light of a ‘moral crusade’ against an unjust dictator.
b. That is not in accordance with justice or fairness; inequitable, unfair; characterized by unfairness; esp. (of a punishment, reward, etc.) not merited; undeserved.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > wrong or injustice > [adjective]
unrighteOE
unrightfulOE
wronga1275
wrongfulc1325
wrongous1357
unjustc1384
untrue1393
injustc1430
unreasonablec1440
unconscionable1492
injuriousa1513
wry1561
justless1578
iniquous1655
iniquitous1726
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Dan. xiii. 53 Nowe thi synnes camen on thee, whiche thou wrouȝtist byfore, demynge vniust [L. iniusta] domys, oppressinge innocentis, and delyuerynge gylti.
Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 24 (MED) Though ymagis moun be worshipid in a manere..netheles..it semeth pleynli that alle tho that onouren costli such idolis in spoilinge pore men with vniust axingis or tallagis, oppressingis, extortions, or othere fraudis..onouren more idolis that ben doumbe than oure Lord Jesu Crist.
a1443 Chancery Petitions (P.R.O.) Ser. CP1 File 12 No. 95 (MED) Oon Richard Philipus..entendyng by subtell and Vniust meanez to defraude your seid pouer Oratour of the seid mese and lond.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) 2 [They] intendit ane oniust veyr..contrar our realme.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella Fift Song, in Arcadia (1598) 552 I lay then to thy charge vniustest [1591 vniustice] Tyrannie.
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. xxviii. 8 By vsurie and vniust gaine. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 4 Are we condemn'd by Fates unjust Decree, No more..our Homes to see?
1739 tr. C. Rollin Rom. Hist. II. Introd. i. 2 Monarchy sometimes degenerated into arbitrary and tyrannical Power, Aristocracy into the unjust government of some few particulars.
1744 London Mag. Oct. 474/2 It must be allowed to be unjust to punish the innocent Child for the Sake of a guilty Father.
1855 E. J. Morris tr. F. Gregorovius Corsica iv. v. 405 He impudently presents himself in a general's costume, the unjust reward of his villany.
1890 Retrospect Med. 102 399 It would be unjust not to refer..to the excellent results obtained by Pawlik and Byrne.
1921 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press-Telegram 18 Nov. The dignified face, almost saintlike in its resignedness to unjust punishment.
1992 G. Steinem Revol. from Within i. iii. 52 Everyone was..to practice civil disobedience to other unjust laws.
2010 Times 4 Aug. 20/2 In far too many cases asylum-seekers..are forced to return to the courts to overturn an unjust initial decision.
2. Lacking integrity or moral rectitude; characterized by this; not acting in accordance with what is morally right or just; wicked, sinful; dishonourable. Also: unfaithful or untrue to (†of) a promise, obligation, etc. (cf. just adj. 11b). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > dishonesty > dishonest person > [adjective]
unjustc1400
bribing1530
unhonest1545
subornate1548
sinistrous1600
sinistruous1601
horse-fair1606
under-honest1609
left-handed1615
leer1631
dishonest1752
cross1819
one-eyed1833
crook1911
society > morality > moral evil > lack of principle or integrity > [adjective] > dishonest
manOE
unjustc1400
bribing1530
unhonest1545
makeshift1592
sinistrous1600
horse-fair1606
under-honest1609
dishonest1611
one-eyed1833
shystering1860
cross1882
crook1911
bent1914
fly-by-night1914
crookish1927
shyster1943
shonky1970
c1400 Prose Versions New Test.: Matt. (Selwyn) (1904) v. 45 (MED) Ȝoure Fadir þat is in heuene..makeþ his sunne sprynge on goode men & yuele, & reyneþ up-on iuste men & vniuste [Wycliffite, E.V. c1384 Douce 369(2) vniuste men; L. iniustos].
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Psalms v. 6 Thou art God not willynge wickidnesse... Nethir vniust men [L. iniqui] schulen dwelle bifor thin iȝen. Thou hatist alle that worchen wickidnesse.
c1510 Remors of Conscyence (de Worde) sig. a.viv But lorde though I haue ben uniuste..I hope to rubbe awaye the ruste With repentaunce and grace of the.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke xvi. f. ciij The lorde commended the vniust stewarde, because he had done wysly.
a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. C1 Thou trothles and vniust, what lines are these?
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 958 Their king accounted vnjust of his word; who [etc.].
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. xv. 71 When a Covenant is made, then to break it is Unjust.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 198 Else nothing could have ever made me unjust to my promise.
1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers xxxix Mr. Plomacy was not quite happy in his mind, for he thought of the unjust steward.
1901 Washington Post 3 Feb. 28/8 The rain, it raineth every day Upon the just and unjust feller; But chiefly on the just, because The unjust takes the just's umbrella.
1976 M. Harrington Twilight of Capitalism ii. 42 Marx was unjust to his ideas in a few passages.
3. Not proper or appropriate; not justified or warranted.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > unfittingness > [adjective]
unbecomelyc1200
uncomelyc1230
unsetec1325
unconablea1340
unhonestc1380
unsitting1390
undue1398
ungainanda1400
disconvenienta1425
unjustc1443
unconvenient1450
unsoundablec1450
inconvenientc1460
unorderly1471
mis-seeminga1522
unconvenable1542
undecent1546
ungreeing1560
graceless1562
unsetting1567
unhovable1570
ill1586
uncouth1589
unfittinga1592
unbeseeming1593
seemless1596
unbecoming1598
unbefitting1598
ill-seta1627
unbeseemly1648
ungainlya1660
indecorous1681
paw-paw1723
ungain-like1796
jive1971
society > morality > dueness or propriety > moral impropriety > [adjective]
unbecomelyc1200
uncomelyc1230
unseemlya1300
unsetec1325
unseemly1338
unconablea1340
unseeminga1340
uncovenablec1374
unsitting1390
undue1398
ungainanda1400
unseemc1425
unjustc1443
unconvenient1450
unsoundablec1450
unhonestc1503
inconvenienta1513
mis-seeminga1522
unconvenable1542
undecent1546
graceless1562
unsetting1567
indecent1570
misbecoming1589
misbeseeming1589
uncouth1589
unbeseeming1593
seemless1596
unbecoming1598
unbefitting1598
wry1601
disbecominga1639
unbeseemly1648
improper1739
ugly1879
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > [adjective] > improper
unjustc1443
graceless1562
ill1586
ugly1594
incorrect1672
paw-paw1723
improper1739
unproper1797
pah1835
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > disharmony or incongruity > unsuitability or inappropriateness > [adjective]
unkinOE
un-i-feieOE
unbecomelyc1200
amissc1325
wrongousa1350
uncovenablec1374
unsitting1390
undue1398
ungainanda1400
unquemea1400
inconvenientc1400
unlikelyc1405
disconvenienta1425
impertinenta1425
discovenablec1436
unmeetc1440
wrongc1440
unjustc1443
unbehovablec1450
inconvenientc1460
uncordial1488
unmeetly1534
unapt1539
unfit1548
incommodious1553
ungreeing1560
impertinent1565
stravagant1565
unproper1566
improper1570
unhovable1570
unapt1579
unbeseeming1583
unsuitablea1586
unappliable1588
unapt1588
unlikely1590
unfittinga1592
unfitted1592
unsuiting1596
unbefitting1598
unsorted1598
unsuited1598
contrary1600
impair1609
unfitty1613
incompetible1621
incongruous1623
infita1626
uncompetiblea1628
inaccommodatea1657
inapplicable1656
inconcinnate1657
inconcinnous1662
inept1675
unaccommodatea1676
incommode1678
indecorous1681
untoward1682
unapplicable1690
insuitable1692
unsuit1704
malapropos1709
inapt1744
out of place1748
uncongenial1788
unfit-like1796
ungain-like1796
inappropriate1804
unadapted1805
dissuitable1807
dissuited1819
ineligible1828
infelicitous1835
unapropos1840
butt-ended1850
malappropriate1851
ungenial1871
misappropriate1878
unbecoming1893
unappropriate1898
unadjusted1899
offside1910
off-key1943
improbable1958
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 279 (MED) Al glorie which we takun or procuren to be ȝouun to vs for oure owne sake..is an vnjust glorie and þerfore synne.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. Q.vjv They..leaue the iuste trauayle, and take vniuste idelnesse.
1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie ii. sig. P2v, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) Would they not thinke you straight proclaime against vs the vniust name of Christians.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage ii. viii. 143 Beda giveth an uniust interpretation of their name.
1713 R. Steele Guardian No. 17 The unjust Taste they have who affect that way of Pleasure.
1825 J. G. Palfrey Prospects & Claims Pure Christianity 21 There was cause to fear that religious liberty had only been wrested from its oppressors to be laid by in neglect. But it was an unjust fear.
1845 Churchman's Monthly Rev. & Chron. June 437 The chief error he commits is..seizing upon one feature in the picture, and giving it an unjust prominence.
1924 Times 12 Apr. 13/3 The proposal has..been regarded with unjust suspicion.
1996 L. Dykstra in C. R. Schuster & M. J. Kuhar Pharmacol. Aspects Drug Dependence v. 198 Opioids are underutilized in clinical settings because of unjust concerns about their abuse potential.
4. Not accurate; incorrect; inexact, imprecise; (formerly also) †irregular (obsolete). Now rare.In later use frequently with implication of unfairness or injustice.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > inaccuracy, inexactness > [adjective]
untruec1220
unrighta1393
amissa1398
unproperc1400
rudec1475
bada1522
haltinga1533
unjust1554
rustical1660
unaccurate1660
inaccurate1665
unprecise1742
unexact1758
imprecise1805
inexact1828
ungrammatical1843
bum1896
dot and carry one1900
seat-of-the-pants1935
1554 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1871) II. 201 Quhair thair beis apprehendit..vniust fals mettis mesouris or wechtis..the awneris thairof salbe pvnist with all regour.
1589 in M. Wood & R. K. Hannay Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1927) V. 6 In respect the awld braysin wechts are worn and brokken and thairby become unjust ordanis the dene of gild to caus mak thame ower agane and to just thame.
1602 J. Davies Mirum in Modum sig. H3 The Sea through vaines and Arteries of the Earth, Creeps through her Corpes,..And then returnes with windings most vniust.
1612 W. Colson Gen. Treasury 246 Because of the vniust fractions in the said table..the said proofe will be found somewhat vniust, but tollerable.
1774 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 64 68 The slightest survey, of the following Tables, will manifestly shew, how erroneous and unjust every calculation..must be.
1875 2nd Ann. Rep. State Board of Health Michigan 1874 45 A commission..reported that there were not 500 acres of good arable land in the interior of the whole State; and in consequence of this unjust report emigration was directed to other channels.
1969 E. Ball Ma'am Jones of Pecos Pref. p. xiii Even facts themselves, without interpretation, can become an unjust record.
1986 Harvard Environmental Law Rev. 10 147/2 A crude approximation, made as exact as possible and changed over time to reflect new information, would be preferable to the manifestly unjust approximation caused by ignoring these costs.
B. n.
1. Chiefly with the. With plural agreement: unjust people considered as a class; the wicked. Also with singular agreement: an unjust or wicked person.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > wickedness > [noun] > wicked person > wicked people
lithera1225
unjustc1384
wicked1393
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) 1 Pet. iii. 18 Crist oonys dyede for oure synnes, he iust for vniuste [L. iniustis].
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. C3 Foule hope, and..fond mistrust: Both which as seruitors to the vniust, So crosse him [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 455 Th' unjust the just hath slain, For envie. View more context for this quotation
1786 S. Johnson Everlasting Punishment Ungodly ii. 107 It expresly severs the just from the unjust, and assigns them an infinitely different inheritance.
1850 R. W. Emerson Plato in Representative Men ii. 75 False opinion respecting the just and unjust.
1899 Public 30 Sept. 15/2 Require from the unbrotherly the practice of the beauty of brotherliness, from the unjust the practice of the beauty of justice.
1901 Washington Post 3 Feb. 28/8 The rain, it raineth every day Upon the just and unjust feller; But chiefly on the just, because The unjust takes the just's umbrella.
1942 N.Y. Times 29 May 15/2 The agony of Europe is universal, sparing neither the just nor the unjust, the rich nor the poor.
2000 Guardian 18 Dec. (G2 section) 6/1 ‘The unjust will be visited with retribution,’ the old man says gently.
2. Chiefly with the. That which is unjust or inconsistent with justice or integrity; injustice, wrong.
ΚΠ
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. ii. ii. f. 14v A knowledge of conscience, that sufficiently discerneth betwene iust and vniust [L. iniustum].
1659 J. Rushworth Hist. Coll. Ep. Ded. The Law..puts a Difference betwixt Good and Evil, betwixt Just and Unjust.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man: Epist. III 18 So drives Self-Love, thro' Just, and thro' Unjust, To One man's Pow'r.
1846 Calcutta Rev. 6 p. xxv Things in fact now range themselves under two categories, the true and the false; the just and the unjust.
1909 J. W. H. Walden Universities Anc. Greece (1910) xvi. 350 Oratory..has civilized men and enabled them to live in communities, it has established laws about the good and the bad, the just and the unjust.
2013 P. H. Kahn Finding ourselves at Movies (2017) i. 17 With stability comes the threat of perpetuating the unjust and the inefficient.
Compounds
unjust enrichment n. Law (originally U.S.) the action or fact of obtaining a benefit (not intended as a gift) from another party in circumstances which the law regards as unjust and where the law requires the beneficiary to make restitution; an instance of this; (also) the body of law relating to such benefits and restitution.Cf. unjustified enrichment n. at unjustified adj. Compounds, which, though often treated as synonymous, is typically used in relation to civil law rather than common law.
ΚΠ
1886 Eau Claire (Wisconsin) Daily Free Press 27 June By non-payment for all such coal it is claimed that miners are cheated out of at least twenty-five per cent of their wages, to the unjust enrichment of mine-owners.
1887 Harvard Law Rev. 1 217 There is no unjust enrichment, and the plaintiff is not entitled to relief.
1942 All Eng. Law Rep. 4 July 135 It is clear that any civilised system of law is bound to provide remedies for cases of what has been called unjust enrichment or unjust benefit, that is, to prevent a man from retaining the money of..another which it is against conscience that he should keep.
1971 Virginia Law Rev. 57 1141 This classification still does not successfully isolate actions grounded in unjust enrichment from the domain of contract.
1985 P. Birks Introd. Law of Resitution ii. 48 These residual events..trigger obligations... In that they differ from contract. But nor are they wrongs or unjust enrichments.
2010 Irish Times 26 Jan. 20/8 The case involves serious claims of fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud and unjust enrichment.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.c1384