unedited

Unedited is an adjective describing material that has not been altered or revised from its original form. In writing, an unedited manuscript is the draft as produced by the author, without copyediting, proofreading, or layout changes. Such manuscripts often contain typographical errors, inconsistencies, and informal language, and they illustrate the author’s initial ideas or the evolution of a work before revision.

In film, television, and digital media, unedited (often synonymous with raw) footage comprises clips that have not been cut, rearranged, color-corrected, or sound-mixed. Unedited footage can reveal authentic performance and sequence flow, but it may include mistakes, pauses, or technical issues, so it is typically used for reference, archival purposes, or released selectively to convey transparency.

In journalism, unedited quotes or statements may be published to preserve accuracy or context, though editors commonly paraphrase or trim content to fit space and style, raising questions about representation and misinterpretation when context is missing.

In digital media, unedited images and videos are often labeled to indicate that no post-processing was applied beyond basic capture, with implications for realism, privacy, and copyright.

Etymology: from un- + edited, with edited deriving from Latin editus meaning made public. See also raw footage, draft, manuscript, editing.