unwritten
/ʌnˈrɪt(ə)n
/adjective
1Not recorded in writing: documenting unwritten languages...
- Two thirds of the world's languages are still unwritten, and there are only several hundred different writing systems.
- A tradition of oral literature has been crucial to the survival of the Hopi Way because the language has remained unwritten until recent years.
- Because the language was unique and unwritten, it would prove impossible for the Japanese to decipher.
2(Especially of a law) resting originally on custom or judicial decision rather than on statute: an unwritten constitution...
- Common Law was unwritten and represented the custom of the people.
- We will come to that in the later arguments but this is all in the realm of the unwritten law.
- The distraught father killed him, and used the unwritten law as his defense.
2.1(Of a convention) understood and generally accepted, although not formally established: the unwritten rules of social life...
- There are unwritten conventions governing professional bar conduct.
- The unwritten but universally accepted industry standard for turnover time is 15 minutes.
- Citi's actions weren't illegal, but broke an unwritten understanding not to whipsaw markets or take advantage of the thin summer trading.
Synonyms
tacit, implicit, unvoiced, silent, implied, taken for granted, accepted, recognized, understood, unrecorded;
traditional, customary, conventional, folk, handed down;
oral, verbal, spoken, vocal, word-of-mouth, by mouth, by word of mouth;
Latin viva voce