as in undiscriminating
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Recent Examples of unselective
The kind of person, in other words, who these days tends to start a college career—typically at an unselective school—but all-too-often ends up dropping out.
—
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 7 Sep. 2012
The cult film Idiocracy (2006) imagines a future in which Americans' mental capacities have been degraded by generations of pop culture, junk food, and–how to put this delicately–unselective breeding.
—Samuel Goldman, The Week, 1 Mar. 2022
With an unselective online-only model seeking to scale rapidly, Lambda is likely to end up somewhere between (free) MOOCs and (costly) for-profit online universities, which – given its ISA model – sounds about right.
—Ryan Craig, Forbes, 28 May 2021
Its wide muzzle suggests unselective bulk-feeding on grasses and low-growing herbs.
—Smithsonian, 8 May 2018
But Pakistani officials went to pains to say the toll was unselective, with Muslims and Christians among the dead and bereaved.
—Daniyal Hassan, Naila Inayat and Salman Masood, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2016
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 7 Sep. 2012
The cult film Idiocracy (2006) imagines a future in which Americans' mental capacities have been degraded by generations of pop culture, junk food, and–how to put this delicately–unselective breeding.
—Samuel Goldman, The Week, 1 Mar. 2022
With an unselective online-only model seeking to scale rapidly, Lambda is likely to end up somewhere between (free) MOOCs and (costly) for-profit online universities, which – given its ISA model – sounds about right.
—Ryan Craig, Forbes, 28 May 2021
Its wide muzzle suggests unselective bulk-feeding on grasses and low-growing herbs.
—Smithsonian, 8 May 2018
But Pakistani officials went to pains to say the toll was unselective, with Muslims and Christians among the dead and bereaved.
—Daniyal Hassan, Naila Inayat and Salman Masood, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unselective
Adjective
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For a longer if equally uncritical account of the cartel’s activities, see Osram chairman William Meinhardt’s Entwicklung und Aufbau der Glühlampenindustrie (Carl Heymanns Verlag, 1932).—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
24 Sep. 2014
-
Defeated and afraid, the leadership in Helsinki settled into a long period of uncritical neutrality toward, if not subservience to, the Kremlin.—
Jussi M. Hanhimäki,
Foreign Affairs,
22 May 2024
Adjective
-
The results derived from a random sampling of 1,004 adults aged 18 and over living in all 50 states, based on phone interviews, with a margin of error plus or minus four percent and with a 95 percent confidence level.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
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Webroot can securely erase files for you, overwriting them with random data three times, by default.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The fantastical final product looks haphazard and far from realistic, but serves as a manifestation of their unattainable desires — which includes whitening their skin and erasing all facial blemishes.—
Carlos Aguilar,
IndieWire,
8 Mar. 2025
-
These are professionals at work here, and yet the staging of virtually every kinetic showstopper feels haphazard at best.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Nonetheless, this is pleasantly undemanding fare targeting younger kids, and Ferrell is quite charming in the role.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
-
Its function is for undemanding use and its nostalgic output.—
Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Oh, the delicious irony of Mr. Only the Ivies Count Lest Your Child Fail to Launch having a daughter who’s in an aimless 19th month of a gap year between high school and college.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2025
-
The aimless adventure of a young kid crisscrossing the city at all hours of the day and night resonated deeply with me as an adolescent.—
Juliana Barbassa,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Eversource is asking the court to overturn a 2023 PURA decision that the company claims was based on an arbitrary application of regulatory law and intended to reach a pre-determined decision to slash its rates.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
7 Mar. 2025
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Many of those firings have prompted lawsuits parallel to Dellinger’s that challenge the legality of Trump bypassing language in statutes, including provisions that protect employees at independent agencies from politicized or arbitrary firings.—
Ashley Oliver,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But the Academy really didn’t go for Revolutionary Road, which received a Supporting Actor nod for Michael Shannon (back row, 11th from right) and desultory nominations for Art Direction and Costume Design but nothing for Winslet or her co-star Leonardo DiCaprio.—
Zach Schonfeld,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2025
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But by the early 1970s, he was ravaged by drug addiction, kicking off a cycle of spirals and comebacks and sporadic, desultory live appearances.—
Rob Tannenbaum,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Mad About the Boy, an adaptation of the slapdash third novel that starts streaming on Peacock on February 13, keeps the trope-laden structure, but finds surprising depth in a devastating plot twist.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2025
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The seemingly slapdash document to overhaul the nation’s spending priorities created confusion throughout the federal government.—
Eric Cortellessa,
TIME,
29 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unselective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unselective. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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