unexplained
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
- unexplainable adjective
Explanation
Something that's unexplained isn't known or made clear, like an unexplained creaking sound coming from the attic of your grandparents' creepy house. Anything without a clear reason for happening or existing is unexplained, whether it's the mysterious crack in the kitchen window or some lines of movie dialogue spoken in a language you don't understand (and without subtitles). When you explain something, you describe what it is, how it works, or why it exists — and then it's explained. Add the prefix un-, meaning "not," and you get unexplained.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A second attempt begins at 11:17 p.m., but the crew aborts and declares an emergency when flight attendants report feeling sick due to an unexplained smell permeating the cabin.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Navy pilots seeing unexplained aerial phenomenon, then by a 2023 Congressional subcommittee hearing on the topic.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
This has been the case since the dawn of mobile devices and algorithmic personalization, but forced separations may have turned curt, unexplained goodbyes into a perceived relationship norm.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
He was pronounced dead at the scene and his death is currently being treated as "unexplained", the force said.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
Over the years they’d learned more than a few things about figuring out unexplained events.
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
