untried

IPA/ˌʌnˈtraɪd/
KK[əntrˈaɪd]IPA/ˌʌnˈtraɪd/

untried — adjective

  • untriedpositive
  • more untriedcomparative
  • most untriedsuperlative

1. not yet used or tried in real situations, so it is not known whether it works we

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

not yet used or tried in real situations, so it is not known whether it works well or is safe.

Example

The hospital's ethics committee rejected the untried drug because the risks were unknown.

attributive use: untried drug

Jiwoo decided to use an untried method for the data analysis project.

Common collocations
  • untried method
  • untried treatment
  • untried technology
  • untried approach
  • untried recipe
  • untried technique
  • remain untried
  • still untried
Synonyms
  • untested

    most direct synonym; slightly more technical in tone

  • unproven

    emphasises doubt about effectiveness rather than mere lack of use

  • experimental

    suggests deliberate testing is underway or planned

  • novel

    focuses on newness; does not necessarily imply the thing has been left untested

Antonyms
  • proven

    shown through use or testing to be effective

  • tested

    tried and found reliable

  • established

    widely accepted and trusted over time

Grammar Patterns

untried + noun

linking verb + untried

Usage Note

Typically used attributively before a noun (an untried method) or after linking verbs such as 'remain' and 'seem'. More common in formal or specialized contexts than in everyday conversation.

Common Mistakes

The young chef is untried in the kitchen.
The young chef is inexperienced in the kitchen.
'Untried' describes things (methods, treatments, equipment) that have not been used or tested, not people who lack experience.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Untried, untested, and unproven all describe things whose effectiveness or safety has not been confirmed, but they differ in emphasis. Untried is the broadest term — it simply means something has not been used before; it may work perfectly well. Untested sounds more technical and implies that no formal evaluation has taken place. Unproven carries a stronger doubt — it suggests a lack of evidence for the thing's value or reliability. Experimental adds the idea that the thing is deliberately being tried in a controlled way. Novel focuses on newness as the key quality, not on whether it works. A novel medical treatment might already be proven effective, whereas an untried one has simply never been administered to a patient.

untested ↗unproven ↗experimental ↗novel ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • untried method
  • untried approach
  • untried treatment
  • untried technology
  • untried technique
  • untried remedy
  • untried recipe

Adverbs

  • completely untried
  • largely untried
  • still untried
  • relatively untried

Phrases

  • untried and untested
  • new and untried

Prepositions

  • untried in

Etymology

Old FrenchEnglish

Formed in English from the prefix un- (meaning 'not') attached to the past participle tried, which comes from the verb try (to test or attempt). The word has been used since the late 1500s to describe things that have not yet been put to the test.

First known use

1526

1526, in the meaning defined at sense 1