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unclassified

/ˈʌnˌklæsəˈfaɪd/
IPA guide

Anything that's unclassified hasn't been sorted or organized into a certain category. If your symptoms can't be identified as a specific illness, your doctor may describe you as having an unclassified condition.

Science is all about classifying things, putting them into classes or groups based on common traits. Things that haven't been thoroughly studied by scientists remain unclassified, like creatures at the very bottom of the ocean or genes that remain mysterious. Another meaning of this adjective is "not secret," usually when we're talking about documents: "The unclassified pages of notes from the President's meeting were published by the newspapers."

Definitions of unclassified
  1. adjective
    not arranged in any specific grouping
    synonyms:
    uncategorised, uncategorized, unsorted
    not categorized or sorted
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    antonyms:
    classified
    arranged into classes
    categorised, categorized
    arranged into categories
    grouped, sorted
    arranged into groups
  2. adjective
    not subject to a security classification
    synonyms:
    declassified
    having had security classification removed
    nonsensitive, unrestricted
    never having had security classification
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    classified
    official classification of information or documents; withheld from general circulation
    eyes-only
    official classification for documents; meant to be seen by only the person to whom it is directed
    confidential
    the level of official classification for documents next above restricted and below secret; available only to persons authorized to see documents so classified
    restricted
    the lowest level of official classification for documents
    secret
    the next to highest level of official classification for documents
    sensitive
    of or pertaining to classified information or matters affecting national security
    top-secret
    the highest official level of classification of documents
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘unclassified'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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