unisex

English

WOTD – 25 July 2021

Etymology

A sign for a unisex restroom (sense 1) in the United States.

From uni- (prefix meaning ‘one, single’) +‎ sex.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈjuːnɪsɛks/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈjunəˌsɛks/
• Hyphenation: uni‧sex

Adjective

unisex (not comparable)

1. Not distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; suitable for any sex or gender. [from 1960s]

   Synonyms: epicene, genderless, gender-neutral, nongendered, omnigender, synoecious, ungendered, unisexual

   Antonym: gendered

   Kim is a unisex name.

   • 2016 January 14, Mary Rizzo, “Runway revolution: Can we tie unisex fashion trends to gender equality?”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 21 February 2026:

     So while today’s unisex fashions may seem like another benchmark for equality, it’s rarely progressive when you look at it through the lens of a lucrative fashion industry that’s looking to turn a profit.

2. (dated) Of or pertaining to only one sex or gender; unisexual. [from 1910s]

Related terms

• unisexual
• unisexuality
• unisexualize
• unisexually

Translations

not distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; suitable for any sex or gender — see also epicene

• Catalan: unisex (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 男女不分的 (nánnǚ bùfēn de), 男女兩用的 / 男女两用的 (nánnǚ liǎng yòng de)

• Dutch: uniseks (nl), geslachtloos (nl)
• Finnish: unisex (fi), molemmille sukupuolille sopiva, sukupuolineutraali (fi)
• French: unisexe (fr), épicène (fr), unigenre (fr)
• Galician: unisex, epiceno (gl)
• Georgian: ერთსქესიანი (ertskesiani)
• German: unisex (de), geschlechtsneutral (de)
• Hebrew: יוניסקס (yúniseks)
• Hungarian: uniszex (hu)
• Indonesian: uniseks (id)
• Italian: unisex (it), bisex, epiceno (it), monosessuale (it)
• Japanese: ユニセックス (ja) (yunisekkusu), 男女兼用 (だんじょけんよう, danjo ken'yō), 男女両用 (だんじょりょうよう, danjo ryōyō)
• Korean: 유니섹스 (yunisekseu)
• Portuguese: unissex (pt), unissexo, epiceno (pt)
• Romanian: unisex
• Russian: юнисе́кс (juniséks), унисе́кс (ru) (uniséks) (indeclinable, of clothes, etc.), го́дный для лиц обоего пола́ (gódnyj dlja lic obojevo polá), неразличимый по полу (nerazličimyj po polu)
• Spanish: unisex (es)
• Swedish: unisex (sv), könsneutral (sv)
• Turkish: üniseks
• Ukrainian: юнісекс (juniseks), унісекс (uniseks)
• Welsh: neillrywiol, neillryw

of or pertaining to only one sex or gender — see unisexual

See also

• non-binary
• intersex

Noun

unisex (uncountable)

1. The state of not being distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; the state of being suitable for any sex or gender. [from 1960s]

Translations

state of not being distinguished on the basis of sex or gender; state of being suitable for any sex or gender

• Japanese: ユニセックス (ja) (yunisekkusu)
• Welsh: neillrywiaeth f

Further reading

• unisex on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Unixes

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern) [u.niˈse̞ks]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [u.niˈsɛks]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

unisex (invariable)

1. unisex

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English unisex. By surface analysis, uni- +‎ sex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /u.niˈzɛks/, /ˈu.ni.zeks/
• Rhymes: -ɛks, -unizeks
• Hyphenation: u‧ni‧sèx, ù‧ni‧sex

Adjective

unisex (invariable)

1. unisex

Romanian

Etymology

Etymology tree

French uni-

Proto-Indo-European *sek-der.

Proto-Indo-European *séks-u-sder.

Proto-Italic *seksus

Proto-Indo-European *sek-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *sékh₁yeti

Proto-Italic *sekaō

Latin secō

Latin secāre?

Latin sexusder.

Middle French sexe

French sexe

French unisexebor.

Romanian unisex

Borrowed from French unisexe.

Adjective

unisex m or f or n (indeclinable)

1. unisex

Declension

Declension of unisex (invariable)

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	unisex		unisex	unisex	unisex
	definite	—		—	—	—
genitive- dative	indefinite	unisex		unisex	unisex	unisex
	definite	—		—	—	—

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English unisex.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌuniˈseɡs/ [ˌu.niˈseɣ̞s]
• Rhymes: -eɡs
• Syllabification: u‧ni‧sex

Adjective

unisex (invariable)

1. unisex

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading

• “unisex”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025