Unearned
adjective
Not gotten through work or effort.
He has an unearned income from his investments.
Often appears as...
- unearned income
- unearned wealth
adjective
Not deserved or earned.
The unearned praise made him feel guilty.
Often appears as...
- unearned praise
- unearned respect
adjective
In sports, gained by the opponent's mistakes.
The other team scored five unearned runs due to errors.
Often appears as...
- unearned runs
- unearned points
adjective
Not gotten through work or effort.
He has an unearned income from his investments.
Often appears as...
- unearned income
- unearned wealth
adjective
Not deserved or earned.
The unearned praise made him feel guilty.
Often appears as...
- unearned praise
- unearned respect
adjective
In sports, gained by the opponent's mistakes.
The other team scored five unearned runs due to errors.
Often appears as...
- unearned runs
- unearned points
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Passive Income
Unearned often refers to money received without active work, like dividends or interest.
Despite not working, his unearned income kept him financially stable.
Pro Tip 2/3Negative Implication
Sometimes 'unearned' suggests the wealth or benefit was not justified.
People criticized his unearned wealth, believing he did not deserve it.
Pro Tip 3/3Social Context
'Unearned' can imply privilege or advantages in society one is born with.
Her unearned privileges were a topic of heated discussion.
Pro Tip 1/3Passive Income
Unearned often refers to money received without active work, like dividends or interest.
Despite not working, his unearned income kept him financially stable.
Pro Tip 2/3Negative Implication
Sometimes 'unearned' suggests the wealth or benefit was not justified.
People criticized his unearned wealth, believing he did not deserve it.
Pro Tip 3/3Social Context
'Unearned' can imply privilege or advantages in society one is born with.
Her unearned privileges were a topic of heated discussion.
Pro Tip 1/3Passive Income
Unearned often refers to money received without active work, like dividends or interest.
Despite not working, his unearned income kept him financially stable.
Pro Tip 2/3Negative Implication
Sometimes 'unearned' suggests the wealth or benefit was not justified.
People criticized his unearned wealth, believing he did not deserve it.
Pro Tip 3/3Social Context
'Unearned' can imply privilege or advantages in society one is born with.
Her unearned privileges were a topic of heated discussion.
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Video examples
Tim Urban: Inside the...
isn't actually fun, because it's completely unearned, and the air is filled with guilt, dread, anxiety, self-hatred -- all of those good procrastinator feelings. And the question is, in this situation, with the Monkey behind the wheel, how does the procrastinator ever get himself over here to this blue zone, a less pleasant place, but where really important things happen?
Video examples
Tim Urban: Inside the...
isn't actually fun, because it's completely unearned, and the air is filled with guilt, dread, anxiety, self-hatred -- all of those good procrastinator feelings. And the question is, in this situation, with the Monkey behind the wheel, how does the procrastinator ever get himself over here to this blue zone, a less pleasant place, but where really important things happen?
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Hope Jahren
American Scientist
You can pick wild strawberries with your eyes closed, locating them by smell, for they are two parts perfume to one part taste. An hour of searching might yield a handful if you're lucky. Wild strawberries can't be encouraged, nor can they be discouraged: They come to you unbidden and unearned. They appear, or do not, by the grace of the sun.
Quote examples
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
South Korean Director
If you have a movie that doesn't strive to go to a certain emotional point, you can do anything and it will be fine and funny. But if you have something pretty emotional at its core, you have to make it right. You don't want it overwrought or unearned. Everything has to be moving towards this one thing.
Quote examples
Ridley Scott
British Director
In film, it's very important to not allow yourself to get sentimental, which, being British, I try to avoid. People sometimes regard sentimentality as emotion. It is not. Sentimentality is unearned emotion.
Quote examples
LZ Granderson
American Journalist
Sure, the job of high school teachers is not to tear down students' self-esteem. But it's certainly not to inflate students' sense of self-worth with a bunch of unearned compliments and half-truths.
Quote examples
Gina Rinehart
Australian Businesswoman
They say that if you give your children too much, they don't get the joy out of work. They just want the unearned things to keep falling from the sky.
Quote examples
Porter Robinson
American Musician
If I could turn it on like a faucet then I think it would be kind of unearned. I feel like you need to struggle a little bit to make anything good.
Quote examples
Francois Hollande
French Statesman
I don't like indecent, unearned wealth. But it is legitimate for an entrepreneur who has created something to make a good living.
Quote examples
J. Edgar Hoover
American Public Servant
Banks are an almost irresistible attraction for that element of our society which seeks unearned money.
Quote examples
Ryan Gosling
Canadian Actor
I did what I had to do to get where I wanted to go. I had unearned confidence.
Quote examples
Ayn Rand
Russian Writer
The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt.
Quote examples
Hope Jahren
American Scientist
You can pick wild strawberries with your eyes closed, locating them by smell, for they are two parts perfume to one part taste. An hour of searching might yield a handful if you're lucky. Wild strawberries can't be encouraged, nor can they be discouraged: They come to you unbidden and unearned. They appear, or do not, by the grace of the sun.
Quote examples
Jennifer Yuh Nelson
South Korean Director
If you have a movie that doesn't strive to go to a certain emotional point, you can do anything and it will be fine and funny. But if you have something pretty emotional at its core, you have to make it right. You don't want it overwrought or unearned. Everything has to be moving towards this one thing.
Quote examples
Ridley Scott
British Director
In film, it's very important to not allow yourself to get sentimental, which, being British, I try to avoid. People sometimes regard sentimentality as emotion. It is not. Sentimentality is unearned emotion.
Quote examples
LZ Granderson
American Journalist
Sure, the job of high school teachers is not to tear down students' self-esteem. But it's certainly not to inflate students' sense of self-worth with a bunch of unearned compliments and half-truths.
Quote examples
Gina Rinehart
Australian Businesswoman
They say that if you give your children too much, they don't get the joy out of work. They just want the unearned things to keep falling from the sky.
Quote examples
Porter Robinson
American Musician
If I could turn it on like a faucet then I think it would be kind of unearned. I feel like you need to struggle a little bit to make anything good.
Quote examples
Francois Hollande
French Statesman
I don't like indecent, unearned wealth. But it is legitimate for an entrepreneur who has created something to make a good living.
Quote examples
J. Edgar Hoover
American Public Servant
Banks are an almost irresistible attraction for that element of our society which seeks unearned money.
Quote examples
Ryan Gosling
Canadian Actor
I did what I had to do to get where I wanted to go. I had unearned confidence.
Quote examples
Ayn Rand
Russian Writer
The worst guilt is to accept an unearned guilt.
Example 1 of 10
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