Writing Tips
http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Institutional Links
-
Translation Bureau
Language Portal of Canada
-
TERMIUM Plus®
-
Index U
- UFO
- UK
- U.K.
- ultra-
- ultraviolet
- UN
- U.N.
- un- (1)
- un- (2)
- unconscious of
- under (1)
- under (2)
- Underground Railroad
- Underground Railway
- under the circumstances
- under the provisions of
- under way
- underway
- under weigh
- undiscriminating
- unexpected surprise
- uni-
- unidentified flying object
- uniform resource locator
- uninterested
- unique
- unique to
- United Kingdom
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- United Nations
- United States
- United States of America
- universal product code
- unlawful
- unsanitary
- unsatisfied
- until
- until such time as
- up
- up-and-coming
- UPC
- upcoming
- upgrade
- upon
- up on
- upper case
- uppercase
- upper-case
- upward
- upwards
- upwards of
- Urdu
- URL
- US
- U.S.
- USA
- U.S.A
- use
- used not to
- used to
- Usher of the Black Rod
- usual custom
- utilize
- UV
- UV index
Proactive Disclosure
Important notice
Writing Tips has been archived and won’t be updated before it is permanently deleted.
For the most up-to-date content, please consult Writing Tips Plus, which combines content from Writing Tips and The Canadian Style. And don’t forget to update your bookmarks!
Search and Functionalities Area
unique, unique to
The adjective unique is an absolute term meaning “one of a kind”; therefore, do not write the most unique or very unique. Note that unique is preceded by the article a (not an).
- The University of Guelph Arboretum has a unique combination of Japanese, English and Italian gardens.
Unique is sometimes used informally to mean “unusual, remarkable or outstanding,” but this is non-standard.
- Yours is an unusual proposal, but it could not accurately be called unique.
Unique to indicates something that is found in only one place, culture, etc.
- The Canada goose is not unique to Canada.
© Public Services and Procurement Canada, 2024
TERMIUM Plus®, the Government of Canada's terminology and linguistic data bank
Writing tools – Writing Tips
A product of the Translation Bureau
