unconscionability
/ʌnˌkɒnʃənəˈbɪlɪti/
unconscionability · noun — the principle that one party to a contract might be entitled to a remedy if the other party has behaved in an unconscionable manner. It carries an Arena rating of 1129, earned across 27 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, unconscionability ranks #729 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words, #3,596 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,279 of 17,130 for Most Ponderous Words, #5,983 of 17,201 for Funniest Words.
unconscionability is pronounced /ʌnˌkɒnʃənəˈbɪlɪti/.
Why “unconscionability” is a great word
UNCONSCIONABILITY — [Noun] A legal principle that a contract or term may be voided if it is so grossly unfair or oppressive to one party as to shock the conscience. From the prefix un- ("not") + conscionable (from conscience, meaning "guided by conscience") + the noun-forming suffix -ity. First attested in 1908. Unlike "inequity," which denotes a broad moral unfairness, or "voidability," which describes a contract's general susceptibility to being nullified, unconscionability is the specific, substantive doctrine that targets a transaction's oppressive nature. It is the usurious interest levied on the hopeless, the exorbitant penalty clause binding the desperate, and the adhesive contract signed without true assent—the law’s quiet, corrective shudder when commerce forgets its own humanity.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From un- + conscionable + -ity.
noun
- The principle that one party to a contract might be entitled to a remedy if the other party has behaved in an unconscionable manner.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
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