Unilateral – Relating to an action or a decision taken by a person, group or country without the agreement of other interested parties

(Pronounced yoo-nih-lat-er-ul)

To remember the definition of the word unilateral, use the following mnemonic:

The new university could be build laterally (unilateral) or vertically; there were supporters for each style, but one side decided on its own that it should be lateral.

Examples of  unilateral in a sentence

He knew no one would agree with him, so he made the unilateral decision to sell the families favourite arm chair while they were all out of the house.

The decision to sell the business was a unilateral one, she didn't wait for the other owners to finish discussing the idea and instead sold the business to their competitors. 

The sergeant had no time to wait for his superiors to discuss the delicate situation, he had to make a unilateral decision if they were to have any chance of surviving the battle.