unsupported

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + supported, the past participle of support.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not backed up by aid or assent, not supported: in John Lydgate's Siege of Thebes (1420–22).^[2] Etymonline dates it to the early 15th century, with the sense "not upheld in a suggested course of action".^[5]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a claim or statement not corroborated by evidence grew out of the first one; from 1694 it was often constructed with by.^[2][4] The physical sense, "not held up", is recorded from 1635,^[2] or the 1630s in Etymonline.^[5] Johnson (1755) gave both "not sustained; not held up", with a quotation from Milton, and "not assisted".^[6] A sense "not bold or confident" is recorded only in 1694.^[2] In physics, from 1941, the word describes a radioactive substance whose decay is not kept at a constant level because its parent nuclide is itself decaying.^[2]

Timeline

• 1420–22 – not backed up by aid or assent; not corroborated.^[2]
• 1635 – not physically supported or held up.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1630s.^[5]
• 1694 – constructed with by; also, once, not bold or confident.^[2]
• 1941 – in physics, of a radioactive substance, not maintained at a constant level.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not backed up by evidence or facts; unsubstantiated: The report made several unsupported claims about the cause of the fire.^[7][3][4]
2. Not held up physically: The toddler can now stand unsupported.^[7][3][2]
3. Without help or backing, financial, emotional or military: The cavalry withdrew and left the gunners unsupported.^[7][3][6]
4. (physics) Of a radioactive substance, not maintained at a constant level because its parent nuclide is decaying.^[2]

Related words

• support

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins