unwritten
Passed down orally
Unwritten describes something not recorded in writing.
An unwritten rule or unwritten law is understood and followed without being formally codified: There's an unwritten rule that you don't talk about salary.
Unwritten history refers to the past of peoples who left no written records.
A blank page is unwritten—not yet filled with text.
Holding nothing inside
- unmarkedHaving no visible identification
- blankWithout marks or content
- unfilledNot occupied or completed
- pristinePure and untouched
virgin · clean · bare · uninscribed · unrecorded · unprinted · clear · spotless
Understood without being stated
- understoodGrasped the meaning
- assumedTaken as true
- unspokenNot verbally expressed
- tacitUnderstood without words
silent · inferred · implied · nonverbal · unstated · innate · inherent · subtext
Not revealed or measured
- unrealizedNot made actual
- unfinishedNot yet complete
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
- pendingAwaiting resolution or decision
forthcoming · awaiting · nascent · budding · emerging · draft · manuscript · unpublished
Principles governing behavior
- normsExpected behavioral standards
- conventionsAccepted social practices
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
protocol · customs · practices · code · handshake · understanding · mores · standards
Expressed in words aloud
- verbalOf or in words
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
word-of-mouth · tales · legends · myths · ancestral · heritage · oral-history · memorized
empty
Holding nothing inside
- unmarkedHaving no visible identification
- blankWithout marks or content
- unfilledNot occupied or completed
pristine · virgin · clean · bare · uninscribed · unrecorded · unprinted · clear · spotless · unused
implicit
Understood without being stated
- understoodGrasped the meaning
- assumedTaken as true
- unspokenNot verbally expressed
tacit · silent · inferred · implied · nonverbal · unstated · innate · inherent · subtext · latent
untold
Not revealed or measured
- unrealizedNot made actual
- unfinishedNot yet complete
- incompleteLacking necessary parts
pending · forthcoming · awaiting · nascent · budding · emerging · draft · manuscript · unpublished · unrecorded
rules
Principles governing behavior
- normsExpected behavioral standards
- conventionsAccepted social practices
- etiquetteRules of polite conduct
traditions · protocol · customs · practices · code · handshake · understanding · mores · standards · expectations
spoken
Expressed in words aloud
- verbalOf or in words
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
storytelling · word-of-mouth · tales · legends · myths · ancestral · heritage · oral-history · memorized · recited
- U-wordsugly, ultimate, ultra, umbrella, unable
- blank slate wordsblank, plain, bare, clear, pristine
- emptinessemptiness, void, vacuum, nothingness, blank
- blank slatestabula rasa, clean slate, blank page, blank canvas, clean sheet
unwrittenwritten
Composed in text
recorded · documented · transcribed · inscribed · printed
unwrittenexplicit
Clearly and directly expressed
stated · expressed · articulated · explained · spelled out
unwrittencodified
Made into systematic rules
formal · formalized · statutory · legislated · official
- unwritten rulesUnstated behavioral expectations
- unwritten lawInformal accepted rule
- unwritten languageSpeech without a script
- unwritten constitutionGovernance by convention, not document