unipolar
adjective
uni·po·lar
ˌyü-ni-ˈpō-lər 
1
: having or oriented in respect to a single pole: such as
a
: having or involving the use of a single magnetic or electrical pole
b
: based on or controlled by a single factor or view
China mistrusts a unipolar, U.S.-dominated world.—
Thomas A. Stewart
Thomas A. Stewart2
psychology
: being, characteristic of, or affected by unipolar depression
unipolar depressive episodes
unipolar patients
Examples of unipolar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Such flexibility was precisely what was lacking in the consciousness of former President Joe Biden and his foreign policy advisers, who clung to the old unipolar days when the American president could hold sway throughout the world with no one to say him nay.
—Robert W. Merry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
Most of the articles made the same simple points: In the aftermath of the Cold War the world was unipolar, dominated by American power, but now more actors were competing for influence.
—Caitlin L. Chandler, The Dial, 6 Mar. 2025
None of the usual descriptors of world order apply anymore: the international system is not unipolar or bipolar or multipolar.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Trump also saw that the post–Cold War defense paradigm—in which U.S. allies disarmed and relied ever more heavily on a unipolar superpower—was out of date.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
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Robert W. Merry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 7 Mar. 2025
Most of the articles made the same simple points: In the aftermath of the Cold War the world was unipolar, dominated by American power, but now more actors were competing for influence.
—Caitlin L. Chandler, The Dial, 6 Mar. 2025
None of the usual descriptors of world order apply anymore: the international system is not unipolar or bipolar or multipolar.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Trump also saw that the post–Cold War defense paradigm—in which U.S. allies disarmed and relied ever more heavily on a unipolar superpower—was out of date.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unipolar
Cite this Entry
“Unipolar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unipolar. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
unipolar
adjective
uni·po·lar
ˌyü-ni-ˈpō-lər
1
: involving or being an electrode or lead attached to the surface of a bodily site (as the chest) for recording the difference in electrical potential between the site and that of another electrode or lead having zero potential
2
of a neuron
: having but one process
3
: being, characteristic of, or affected by unipolar depression
unipolar depressive episodes
unipolar patients
compare bipolar
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