unregulated

/ˈʌnˌrɛgjəˈleɪdɪd/

Whether it’s an economy, the fishing industry, or your cash flow, something that’s unregulated knows no bounds — there are no rules or restrictions in place.

When you break the word unregulated down, it’s easy to figure out what it means. The prefix un- reverses an action, so here it means “not.” Then you have regulated, which describes something that has rules or people who check that things are working properly. So if something is unregulated, there are no rules or people making sure everything is right, like an unregulated restaurant that the board of health doesn't know about.

Definitions of unregulated

1. adjective

   not regulated; not subject to rule or discipline
   “unregulated off-shore fishing”

   antonyms:

   regulated

   controlled or governed according to rule or principle or law
2. adjective

   without regulation or discipline
   “an unregulated environment”

   synonyms:

   unstructured

   lacking definite structure or organization