Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing
Unilateral
adjective
/ yoo-ni-LAT-uh-rul /
Easy
Meaning
Undertaken, decided, or performed by only one side, party, or country without the agreement or participation of others
Origin / Etymology
Latin uni- (one) + lateralis (of the side); entered legal and diplomatic vocabulary in the 19th century to distinguish one-party acts from bilateral or multilateral agreements
Synonyms
One-sided
Independent
Solo
Uncoordinated
Antonyms
Bilateral
Multilateral
Consensual
Collaborative
Example Sentence
"India's unilateral decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 was welcomed domestically but drew sharp criticism from Pakistan and raised concerns at the UN Human Rights Council."
🎯 UPSC Usage
Essential for GS-2 (IR, polity) answers. Use whenever one country or party acts without multilateral consent — US withdrawal from Paris Agreement, India's surgical strikes, China's unilateral declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone. Contrasting unilateral with multilateral approaches is a classic UPSC framework for evaluating international decisions.
Relevant Subjects