unlicensed

adjective

Definition of unlicensednext
as in unauthorized

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unlicensed And yet, this unlicensed, or bootleg, merchandise is a signature stitch in the fabric of fandom, one that fills an integral role in the live entertainment ecosystem. — Matt Martell, Vogue, 6 Oct. 2026 For relief, the Knicks seek a permanent injunction blocking the defendants from using Knicks trademarks and other intellectual property in connection with the unlicensed sale of goods. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 5 Oct. 2026 Cops have arrested an unlicensed SUV operator who caused a chain-reaction crash that killed a 67-year-old man on a Brooklyn sidewalk, officials said Friday. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026 That is how uninsured crews, unlicensed operators and fly-by-night outfits win jobs. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unlicensed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlicensed
  1. unauthorized
  2. unapproved
  3. unsanctioned
  4. contraband
  5. smuggled
Adjective
  • Coleman found instructive a 1938 ruling in favor of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who challenged a radio station that placed observers on a rooftop next to Forbes Field and paid them to provide play-by-play for an unauthorized radio broadcast.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Sanchez has been charged with a level five felony of battery involving serious bodily injury, as well as the misdemeanors of battery resulting in injury, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication.
    — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of unauthorized
Adjective
  • Employee beverage tumblers with unapproved lid were at the shelf of the front service prep area and main kitchen food prep table.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The statement skirted the charges in ZCCM-IH’s September letter, which accused IRH — part of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed’s International Holding Company — of failing to provide equity funding and taking on unapproved debt.
    — semafor.com, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of unapproved
Adjective
  • Set early during the New Republic era, the game introduces the Galactic League, an unsanctioned racing circuit assembled by Darius Pax.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The company is drawing a line between sanctioned and unsanctioned sharing with outside safety groups at the same time the industry is, slowly, inviting those groups in.
    — Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of unsanctioned
Adjective
  • Officers searched the restroom and found a package of contraband drugs, including K2, high-potency THC wax and suboxone strips.
    — DeJanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • His current release date is scheduled for March 2028, a recent change after he was reportedly caught using a contraband cell phone to scroll on Instagram.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of contraband
Adjective
  • But Rankin does mention a thuggish figure named Kodama Yoshio, who worked for Japanese spy agencies in China while trading in narcotics and smuggled goods.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The smuggled animals, which were imported from both Hong Kong and Mexico without permits, included Mexican beaded lizards, Mexican box turtles and Yucatan box turtles and baby crocodiles, prosecutors said.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Definition of smuggled

Browse Nearby Words

unlettered
unlicensed
unlikable
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Cite this Entry

“Unlicensed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlicensed. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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