unfollowed

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of unfollow.

   After the argument, she unfollowed several mutual friends online.

   He had unfollowed the brand long before the controversy broke.

   Note

   A regular verb: unfollow adds -ed, so one spelling serves both "she unfollowed him" and "she has unfollowed him." Because the verb can take an object, the participle also forms passives ("he was unfollowed by half his classmates"). Because it can also be used without an object, it stands alone after the subject. Its look-alike, the older "not followed" adjective, shares the spelling but not the meaning.

   He was unfollowed by half his old classmates within a day.

   She didn't block anyone; she just quietly unfollowed.

2. 2
   adjective

   Not followed: having no followers or pursuers, and not acted upon by anyone.

   The escaped suspect slipped away, unfollowed by the officers in the dark.

   His detailed instructions remained unfollowed, and the project quietly fell apart.

   Similarunheeded, disregarded, unpursued

   Note

   A word with nineteenth-century roots: Edward Bulwer-Lytton's The Pilgrims of the Rhine (1834) describes storms of passion "unfollowed by any halcyon and honeymoon suings for forgiveness." There, follow means "come after," so the storms were not succeeded by any apology. In that use the word takes a by-phrase naming what never came next. It is simply un- plus followed, and it does not take more or most.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2