unrecorded

American  

[uhn-ri-kawr-did] / ˌʌn rɪˈkɔr dɪd /

adjective

1. not recorded; not reported in an official record.

2. not noted in historical documents.

   an unrecorded event; an unrecorded tradition.

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unrecorded British  

/ ˌʌnrɪˈkɔːdɪd /

adjective

1. not recorded on paper, tape, video tape, etc

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Etymology

Origin of unrecorded

First recorded in 1575–85; un- ¹ + record + -ed ²

Explanation

If you neglect to write something down, photograph it, or otherwise document that it happened, it's unrecorded. Many unrecorded events in history are passed on through oral storytelling. When an event is recorded, it's filmed, described in writing, or somehow documented so that it can be referred to later. Anything unrecorded hasn't been captured in a permanent form. If your cousin's violin recital is unrecorded, that means no one took a video. The stories of people who hold little power in society have often gone unrecorded, so they're frequently left out of history books. The Latin root of unrecorded is recordari, "remember."

Example Sentences

The true death toll is probably higher; given that there are so many chimps in a large area, some deaths go unrecorded, according to the study.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

You may be alarmed to realize your own unrecorded memories are locked into the perspective of wherever you placed your phone.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

It’s only going to become a more frequent dilemma as streamers, surveillance cameras, and wearable glasses leave fewer moments of reality unrecorded.

From Slate • Sep. 12, 2025

But another baby girl – who Mrs Rawsthorne gave birth to in hospital remains missing and seemingly unrecorded.

From BBC • Jul. 23, 2024

It is impossible today to reconstruct what actually occurred, because the exact nature of Gunda’s tumor is unrecorded and whether other factors contributed to her recovery is undocumented.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• accepted
• tacit
• verbal