unencrypted

IPA/ˌʌnɪnˈkrɪptɪd/
IPA/ˌʌnɪnˈkrɪptɪd/

unencrypted — adjective

  • unencryptedpositive
  • more unencryptedcomparative
  • most unencryptedsuperlative

1. An unencrypted electronic file, message, or connection has not been converted in

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

An unencrypted electronic file, message, or connection has not been converted into a secret code, so anyone who obtains access to it can read everything it contains.

Example

Emre discovered that the hospital system was storing patient records in unencrypted files.

unencrypted files — noun pattern for stored records

The IT team warned everyone not to send passwords by unencrypted email after the security breach.

by unencrypted email — prepositional modifier for transmission method

Common collocations
  • unencrypted data
  • unencrypted connection
  • unencrypted file
  • unencrypted email
  • unencrypted Wi-Fi network
  • unencrypted backup
  • unencrypted transmission
Synonyms
  • plaintext

    Technical term used in cryptography; describes data in its raw, unencrypted form before or after decoding

  • uncoded

    Less common in computing; more general and slightly old-fashioned

  • clear

    Used informally in 'clear text' but ambiguous because it also means transparent or easy to understand

Antonyms
  • encrypted

    The direct opposite; data that has been turned into a secret code

  • coded

    General term for data converted into a non-readable form

  • scrambled

    Informal; describes data that has been deliberately made unreadable

Grammar Patterns

unencrypted + noun (data, connection, file, email, network)

Usage Note

Common in computing and security contexts. Frequently modifies nouns such as 'data', 'connection', 'file', 'email', 'network', 'backup', and 'transmission'. The opposite is 'encrypted'.

Common Mistakes

Please make sure the connection is unencrypted before sending your credit card number.
Please make sure the connection is encrypted before sending your credit card number.
For safety you want encryption, not the absence of it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Unencrypted is the broadest and most common term for data that lacks encryption protection. Plaintext is a precise technical term used in cryptography for data before encryption or after decryption — it is not a general synonym for 'unprotected'. Uncoded sounds slightly old-fashioned and is rarely used in modern computing. Clear appears in phrases such as 'clear text' but is ambiguous because it can also mean easy to read or see-through. In everyday security discussions, use unencrypted (e.g., 'unencrypted connection', 'unencrypted file'); in cryptographic contexts, use plaintext ('the plaintext is fed into the encryption algorithm').

unencrypted ↗plaintextuncoded ↗clear ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • sent over an unencrypted connection
  • stored in unencrypted form
  • transmitted as unencrypted text

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Formed by adding the prefix un- (meaning 'not') to 'encrypted', the past participle of 'encrypt'. The verb 'encrypt' was first recorded in English around the 1940s and comes from the Greek word 'kryptos', meaning 'hidden'. The term became widely used with the rise of digital computing and internet security.