Unfairly

How to spell unfairly

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce unfairly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unfairly mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is unjust, biased, or not in accordance with the rules.

Unfairly in a sentence

• The staff felt they had been treated unfairly during the restructuring.

• The referee was accused of unfairly favouring the home team.

Where does unfairly come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built entirely from native English elements, which is why it feels so transparent. The core word 'fair' descends from the Old English 'fæger', meaning 'pleasing, beautiful, attractive', and over centuries the sense broadened to cover the idea of being just and free from bias. The prefix 'un-' is also an ancient Germanic negative, the same one that sits at the front of countless English words to mean simply 'not'. The adverb suffix '-ly' comes from Old English '-lice', originally meaning 'having the form or manner of'. Stacked together, 'unfairly' means 'in a manner that is not just', and the whole construction was assembled within English rather than borrowed wholesale. The doubled meaning of 'fair', covering both beauty and justice, is a lingering trace of how Anglo-Saxon speakers blended the two ideas.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• fair (just, equitable)
• -ly (adverb suffix)