unannotated

IPA/ˌʌnˈæn.ə.teɪ.tɪd/
IPA/ˌʌnˈæn.ə.teɪ.t̬ɪd/

unannotated — adjective

  • unannotatedpositive
  • more unannotatedcomparative
  • most unannotatedsuperlative

1. (of a written work, document, or edition) published or presented without any add

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

(of a written work, document, or edition) published or presented without any added explanations, footnotes, or critical comments that help the reader understand the content.

Example

Wei preferred the unannotated edition so he could judge the characters himself.

collocation: unannotated edition of [noun]

The professor handed out an unannotated medieval poem and asked the class to find the metaphors themselves.

noun-order: unannotated version

Common collocations
  • unannotated edition
  • unannotated text
  • unannotated manuscript
  • unannotated version
  • unannotated document
  • unannotated screenplay
  • unannotated script
  • remain unannotated
  • leave unannotated
  • entirely unannotated
  • largely unannotated
Synonyms
  • unmarked

    broader term; can mean any kind of marking (not just explanatory notes), e.g. 'unmarked grave'.

  • unedited

    focuses on lack of corrections or revisions rather than lack of explanatory notes.

  • plain

    less formal; suggests a text with no special features or additions at all.

Antonyms
  • annotated

    direct opposite: having explanatory notes or comments added.

  • footnoted

    narrower: having footnotes specifically, rather than any type of commentary.

Grammar Patterns

unannotated + noun (text, edition, manuscript, script, data)

Usage Note

Frequently used in academic and publishing contexts to contrast a bare text with an "annotated" version. The noun it modifies is most often a type of written work (edition, text, manuscript, screenplay, document).

Common Mistakes

The meeting minutes were unannotated with no date.
The meeting minutes were unannotated, so nobody knew when they were written.
'unannotated' refers to absence of notes or explanations, not absence of basic metadata.
He gave an unannotated speech.
He gave a speech with no written notes.
'unannotated' applies to texts/documents, not to spoken performances without preparation notes.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

While 'unannotated', 'unmarked', 'unedited', and 'plain' can all describe a text without added material, they differ in focus. 'Unannotated' is the most precise term for a text lacking explanatory or critical notes — it is the standard word in academic publishing (an unannotated edition of Shakespeare). 'Unmarked' is broader: a text can be unmarked because nobody wrote on it at all, but the word also applies to non-textual objects (an unmarked grave). 'Unedited' implies the text has not been corrected or polished, not that it lacks commentary. 'Plain' is an informal, all-purpose word that suggests no special features, but it does not carry the specific meaning of 'no explanatory notes'. For a learner writing about literature or academic sources, 'unannotated' is the most accurate choice.

unmarked ↗uneditedplain ↗unannotated ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • with no annotations

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English from the prefix un- (meaning 'not') added to the past participle 'annotated', which comes from the Latin verb 'annotare' (meaning 'to mark down, to note'), itself from 'ad-' (to) + 'notare' (to mark). The base word 'annotate' entered English in the early 1700s, and 'unannotated' followed as its natural negation.

First known use

1859

1859, in the meaning defined above