uncool

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + cool, from the prefix meaning "not" and the slang sense of the adjective cool.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not cool, in various senses; here unpleasant or dangerous: 1948, in a letter of W. S. Burroughs,^[2][6] written to Jack Kerouac.^[6] Etymonline dates the word to 1953 in hipster slang,^[3] the year of Merriam-Webster Unabridged's first known use^[4] and of the first quotation in Green's Dictionary of Slang, from Burroughs's Junkie, published as by "William Lee": "Nick is a very un-cool guy".^[5]

Semantic evolution

It began in American slang with a range of negative meanings set by the context: unpleasant, rude, tactless, emotional or unfair.^[5][6] A 1969 British underground glossary defined it as reckless, jittery, loudmouthed or paranoid,^[5] and Collins still records the sense excitable or tense, the opposite of keeping cool.^[7] The main sense today is unfashionable or unsophisticated, not stylish.^[2][7][4] The phrase the uncool, uncool people as a class, is recorded from 1966, and the noun for the quality itself from 1989.^[2] The physical adjective uncooled, not made cool, is much older, from the 1510s.^[3]

Timeline

• 1948 – not cool; unpleasant, dangerous.^[2][6]
• 1953 – of a person, uncool, in Burroughs's Junkie.^[5][4][3]
• 1966 – the uncool, uncool people as a class.^[2]
• 1969 – reckless, jittery, loudmouthed.^[5]
• 1989 – noun, the quality of being uncool.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (informal) Not fashionable or stylish; lacking sophistication: He thought it was uncool to be seen with his parents.^[2][7][4]
2. (informal) Lacking self-control or assurance; excitable or tense.^[4][7]
3. (informal) Not in keeping with the mores of a particular group; unacceptable, unfair or tactless.^[4][5]

Noun

1. the uncool: uncool people as a group.^[2]
2. The quality of being uncool.^[2]

Related words

• cool

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
6. ^ a b c d Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
7. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins