unjust

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Germanic *un-

Proto-West Germanic *un-

Old English un-

Middle English un-

English un-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-

Proto-Indo-European *-u

Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu

Proto-Indo-European *h₂yew-

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwos

Proto-Italic *jowos

Old Latin *iowos, *iowez-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-tos

Old Latin -tus

Old Latin iovestos

Latin iūstus

Old French justebor.

Middle English juste

English just

English unjust

From un- + just.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈd͡ʒʌst/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌst

Adjective

unjust (comparative more unjust, superlative most unjust)

1. Not fair, just or right.

   The solution was very unjust.

   • 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I:

     This ſtraunge vnwelcome and vnhappie newes,
     Of theſe vnnaturall Rebels and vniust,
     That threaten wracke vnto this wretched Land,
     Aye me affrights my womans mazed minde,
     Burdens my heart, and interrupts my ſleepe, […]

   • a. 1947, anonymous, as published in 1947, ed. Iona and Peter Opie, I Saw Esau: Traditional Rhymes of Youth:

     The rain it raineth all around
     Upon the just and unjust fella;
     But chiefly on the just because
     The unjust stole the just’s umbrella.

   • 2025 August 4, Bryan Robinson, “The ‘9-9-6 Work Schedule’ Could Be Coming To Your Workplace Soon”, in Forbes‎^[1], archived from the original on 7 August 2025:

     The Gen Z generation is bringing “good trouble” — a term coined by civil rights activist and politician John Lewis for nonviolent protests against unjust situations — to the “9-9-6 work culture.”

Usage notes

• See the notes about injustice.

Synonyms

• unfair

Antonyms

• just

Derived terms

• unjust enrichment
• unjustly
• unjustness

Related terms

• justice
• injustice

Translations

not fair, just or right

• Arabic: ظَالِم (ar) (ẓālim), جَائِر (ar) (jāʔir)
• Armenian: անարդար (hy) (anardar)
• Aromanian: nidreptu
• Asturian: inxustu
• Bulgarian: несправедлив (bg) (nespravedliv)
• Catalan: injust (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不公平的 (bù gōngpíng de), 不公正的 (bù gōngzhèng de), 非正義的 / 非正义的 (fēi zhèngyì de)

• Czech: nespravedlivý (cs)
• Dutch: onrechtvaardig (nl)
• Finnish: epäoikeudenmukainen (fi)
• French: injuste (fr)
• Galician: inxusto (gl)
• Georgian: უსამართლო (usamartlo)
• German: ungerecht (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: ἄδικος (ádikos)

• Hungarian: nem tisztességes, igazságtalan (hu)
• Icelandic: ranglátur
• Irish: ainfhíréanta, aincheart, neamhchóir, éagórach, éigeart, neamhfhíréanta
• Italian: ingiusto (it)
• Japanese: 不正な (ja) (ふせいな, fusei na)
• Korean: 옳지 않은 (olchi aneun)
• Latin: iniūrus
• Macedonian: неправеден (nepraveden)
• Old English: unrihtwīs
• Persian: غیر عادلانه, غیر منصفانه, نامردی (fa) (nâmardi) (informal)
• Plautdietsch: onjerajcht
• Polish: niesprawiedliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: injusto (pt)
• Romanian: nedrept (ro), injust (ro)
• Russian: несправедли́вый (ru) (nespravedlívyj)
• Spanish: injusto (es)
• Swedish: orättvis (sv), vrång (sv)
• Turkish: adaletsiz (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: عدالتسز (ʼadaletsiz)

• Woiwurrung: wy-koorong koogajek