unipolar

adjective

uni·​po·​lar ˌyü-ni-ˈpō-lər How to pronounce unipolar (audio)
1
: having or oriented in respect to a single pole: such as
a
: having or involving the use of a single magnetic or electrical pole
b
: based on or controlled by a single factor or view
China mistrusts a unipolar, U.S.-dominated world.Thomas A. Stewart
2
psychology : being, characteristic of, or affected by unipolar depression
unipolar depressive episodes
unipolar patients

Examples of unipolar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This shared sense of exceptionalism was also the common factor in the country’s two otherwise contradictory foreign-policy traditions, as Henry Kissinger pointed out in 1994, at a moment of unipolar American primacy. Andreas Kluth, The Mercury News, 25 June 2024 With the post–Cold War unipolar moment over, the United States and China now jostle over trade and technology, compete in a conventional and nuclear arms race, and seek to counter the other in various hot spots. Charles L. Glaser, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2024 The collapse of the Soviet Union shocked China’s leaders, and the U.S. military success in the 1991 Gulf War brought home to them that China now existed in a unipolar world in which the United States could deploy its power almost at will. Odd Arne Westad, Foreign Affairs, 13 June 2024 The United States entered its unipolar moment and Russia was busy rebuilding after the collapse of its empire. Elizabeth Buchanan, Foreign Affairs, 18 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for unipolar 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unipolar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of unipolar was in 1806

Dictionary Entries Near unipolar

Cite this Entry

“Unipolar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unipolar. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Medical Definition

unipolar

adjective
uni·​po·​lar ˌyü-ni-ˈpō-lər How to pronounce unipolar (audio)
1
: involving or being an electrode or lead attached to the surface of a bodily site (as the chest) for recording the difference in electrical potential between the site and that of another electrode or lead having zero potential
2
of a neuron : having but one process
3
: being, characteristic of, or affected by unipolar depression
unipolar depressive episodes
unipolar patients
compare bipolar
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