Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

1 ADJ [ADJ n] You can use untold to emphasize how bad or unpleasant something is. [EMPHASIS ] □  The demise of the industry has caused untold misery to thousands of hard-working tradesmen. □  This might do untold damage to her health.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] You can use untold to emphasize that an amount or quantity is very large, especially when you are not sure how large it is. [EMPHASIS ] □  …the nation's untold millions of anglers.

un|touch|able /ʌntʌ tʃəb ^ə l/ (untouchables )

1 ADJ If you say that someone is untouchable , you mean that they cannot be affected or punished in any way. □  I want to make it clear, however, that no one is untouchable in this investigation. ● N‑COUNT An untouchable is someone who is untouchable. □  …an anti-corruption squad nicknamed the 'Untouchables'.

2 ADJ If you describe someone, especially a sports player or entertainer, as untouchable , you are emphasizing that they are better than anyone else in what they do. [EMPHASIS ] □  A lot of the players began to feel they were untouchable.

3 N‑COUNT Some people refer to Hindus of the lowest social rank as untouchables . [OFFENSIVE ] □  He was born an untouchable in a very poor village in south India.

un|touched /ʌ ntʌ tʃt/

1 ADJ [v-link ADJ , ADJ after v] Something that is untouched by something else is not affected by it. □ [+ by ] Few areas of life remain untouched by technology.

2 ADJ [v-link ADJ , ADJ after v] If something is untouched , it is not damaged in any way, although it has been in a situation where it could easily have been damaged. □  Amongst the rubble, there was one building that remained untouched. □  Some banknotes were taken but credit cards left untouched.

3 ADJ [ADJ n, v-link ADJ , ADJ after v] An untouched area or place is thought to be beautiful because it is still in its original state and has not been changed or damaged in any way. □  Ducie is one of the world's last untouched islands, nearly 5,000km from Australia.

4 ADJ [v-link ADJ , ADJ after v, ADJ n] If food or drink is untouched , none of it has been eaten or drunk. □  The coffee was untouched, the toast had cooled.

un|to|ward /ʌ ntəwɔː ^r d, [AM ] -tɔː ^r d/ ADJ [ADJ n] If you say that something untoward happens, you mean that something happens that is unexpected and causes difficulties. [FORMAL ] □  The surveyor's report didn't highlight anything untoward. □  Tampering with a single enzyme can lead to untoward effects elsewhere.

un|trace|able /ʌ ntre I səb ^ə l/ ADJ If someone or something is untraceable , it is impossible to find them. □  …a world where electronic crime is untraceable.

un|trained /ʌ ntre I nd/

1 ADJ Someone who is untrained has not been taught the skills that they need for a particular job, activity, or situation. □  It is a nonsense to say we have untrained staff dealing with emergencies. □  Our Intelligence Service was untrained, cumbersome, and almost wholly ineffectual.

2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a voice or a mind, for example, as untrained , you mean that it has not been developed through formal education or training. □  It was often said that he had the best untrained mind in politics.

un|tram|melled /ʌntræ m ^ə ld/ in AM, use untrammeled ADJ Someone who is untrammelled is able to act freely in the way they want to, rather than being restricted by something. [LITERARY ] □  The global credit crunch exposed the limits of untrammelled free markets. □ [+ by ] She thought of herself as a free woman, untrammelled by family relationships.

un|treat|ed /ʌ ntriː t I d/