What does unrepaired mean?
Unrepaired is an adjective describing something that has not been fixed, mended, or restored after damage or deterioration. Its clearest use is with physical objects and structures: an unrepaired leak, road, building, vehicle, or appliance may remain unsafe, ineffective, or liable to worsen. It can also describe an unresolved defect, such as unrepaired damage, emphasizing that the problem is still present rather than already addressed. The word is more precise than damaged in some contexts because it explicitly identifies the absence of repair, but it does not indicate how serious the damage is or who is responsible for correcting it. In figurative use, unrepaired can characterize a failure, injury, or shortcoming that remains uncorrected. This extension is understandable but less frequent than the concrete use. Overall, the word is useful when a speaker needs to distinguish an uncorrected problem from one that has already been remedied. It is standard in English in Britain and the United States and is more technical or emphatic than the plainer expression “not fixed.”
adjectiveNot repaired, fixed, mended, or restored to a sound, working, or usable condition.
- Not fixed, mended, or restored after damage, deterioration, or malfunction.
- Figuratively, not remedied or corrected.
"The old bridge remained closed because its unrepaired structural damage posed a serious risk."
"Engineers inspected the unrepaired section of the pipeline and ordered an immediate shutdown."
"The report exposed several unrepaired failures in the system and recommended corrective action."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does unrepaired come from?
Unrepaired is an English adjective formed by adding the negative prefix un- to the past participle repaired. Repair came into Middle English through Old French repairer and ultimately derives from Latin reparare, a verb meaning “to restore” or “remedy,” formed from re-, meaning “again,” and parare, meaning “to prepare.” Words such as repairer, reparable, reparative, and irreparable reflect the same Latin foundation.
How unrepaired is actually used
This is standard in British and American English, particularly in technical, journalistic, insurance, inspection, and maintenance contexts. It is more explicit and sometimes more formal than “not fixed,” and it may suggest that further repair is possible but has not yet occurred.
Easily confused with unrepaired
An unrepaired object or structure has not been fixed after damage or deterioration, whereas an unprepared person or situation is not ready.