Uncompromising

How to spell uncompromising

14 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce uncompromising

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does uncompromising mean?

1. adjectiveRefusing to lower standards, change a firm position, or make concessions.

Uncompromising in a sentence

• The auditor took an uncompromising stance on the missing receipts.

• Her uncompromising attention to detail made the report flawless.

Where does uncompromising come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'compromise', which English took in the early 1400s from the Old French 'compromis' and ultimately from the Latin 'compromittere', meaning 'to make a mutual promise', formed from 'com-' (together) and 'promittere' (to promise, literally to send forth). A compromise was originally a binding agreement to abide by the decision of an arbitrator, so the idea of give and take is baked into the root. Adding the negative prefix 'un-' and the adjective ending '-ing' produced a word describing someone who refuses any such give and take, holding firm without concession. It came into common use in the early nineteenth century. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the silent letters and the unstressed 'pro' syllable can blur, and the single 'm' in '-promis-' is easy to second-guess after the doubled letters elsewhere in related words.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• com- (together)
• promis (from Latin promittere: to promise)
• -ing (adjective suffix)