Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use unless in a sentence

40 example sentences · conjunction

Unless means except on a specified condition; if not. Example: “I’m leaving unless I get a pay rise.”

Examples of unless by meaning

conjunctionExcept on a specified condition; if not.

  • I’m leaving unless I get a pay rise.
  • You can't go out unless it stops raining.
  • Unless part of the staff, you are not allowed beyond this point.

conjunctionIf not; used with counterfactual conditionals.

  • Who would know of Alexander or Caesar, or would respect the Stoics or the Peripatetics, unless they had been distinguished by the memorials of writers?1159, John of Salisbury, Policraticus, edited by Cary J. Nederman, Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 3 (Google Books view)

More sentences with unless

  • The cold truth is that states rarely undertake military action unless their national interests are at stake.From the entry cold
  • Any rule of thumb, however true (it is), is useless unless you understand its underlying logic.From the entry however
  • She felt miserable unless she had neighbors with whom to quarrel regularly.From the entry whom
  • It should be in your mail today, unless the post office lost it!From the entry mail
  • No language has a trial number unless it has a dual.From the entry trial
  • The text box won't receive the user's keystrokes unless you explicitly focus it.From the entry focus
  • Just plant a few tomatoes, unless you can freeze or dry them.From the entry just
  • No customer personal data will be retained unless it is rendered anonymous.From the entry anonymous
  • That software licence will expire tomorrow unless we can crack it.From the entry crack
  • She will have to go inside unless the jury sides with her.From the entry inside
  • Usually gangrene will follow necrosis unless the dead tissue is resected.From the entry necrosis
  • Unless our train's not on time, we'll be home at three.From the entry on time
  • The refrigerator, washer, and dryer do not convey unless it's specifically laid out in the contract.From the entry convey
  • I wouldn't have or do something, unless I'm convinced that it's good.From the entry convince
  • The inverse sine function is multivalued unless it is restricted to a suitable range.From the entry multivalued
  • Unless you're seriously strapped (armed), you're about to be not okay too.From the entry seriously
  • Some people believe that mental illnesses can't be treated unless the person hits rock bottom first.From the entry rock bottom
  • I wouldn't recommend doing surgery on yourself, unless it is a last resort.From the entry last resort
  • Unless anything comes up, I'll be there every day this week.From the entry come up
  • They threatened to go public with the photos unless I paid up.From the entry go public
  • The local factory will close down soon, unless sales pick up.From the entry close down
  • Don't swing for the fences unless it's an easy ball; be content with running part way.From the entry swing for the fences
  • I wouldn't go back there unless you want to get some zoomies!From the entry zoomies
  • Unless otherwise mentioned, 25 ml of throat paint is to be prepared.From the entry throat paint
  • Vortex rings are rarely noticed unless the motion is revealed by suspended particles, as in smoke rings.From the entry vortex ring
  • Unchecked technological progress will destroy us unless we retvrn as soon as possible.From the entry retvrn
  • Don't run that software unless you have permission.From the entry run
  • I can’t do a back handspring unless somebody spots me.From the entry spot
  • His addictedness was such that unless physically restrained, he would continuously self-administer the drug until he lapsed into unconsciousness.From the entry addictedness
  • You can't post messages on the site unless you're authed.From the entry auth
  • Unless Geoff can come up with the money for that train ticket, he'll be stuck in Des Moines for the weekend.From the entry come up with
  • Unless it was decreed royally, it never got done.From the entry royally
  • The saleswoman told her that her face would look older unless she bought this line of skincare products.From the entry skincare
  • Unless we find a million pounds by Monday, the company will go bust. We really are in the last chance saloon.From the entry last chance saloon
  • It's never a true crime unless it's committed with style.From the entry true crime
  • Functional programming languages usually don't allow changing the immediate value of locals once they've been initialized, unless they're explicitly marked as being mutable.From the entry local

Meaning of unless

  1. conjunction Except on a specified condition; if not.
  2. conjunction If not; used with counterfactual conditionals.
  3. conjunction Except if; used with hypothetical conditionals.

Full definition of unless

Questions about unless in a sentence

How do you use unless in a sentence?
Unless is used as a conjunction. For example: “I’m leaving unless I get a pay rise.”
What is a short sentence with unless?
“Don't run that software unless you have permission.”
What does unless mean?
Unless means except on a specified condition; if not.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: unless (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use unless in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/unless. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.