unwittingly

[uhn-wit-ing-lee]

adverb

1. without meaning to; unintentionally.

   Users who visit infected websites could unwittingly download malware that steals information in their computers.

2. through ignorance; through lack of knowledge or awareness.

   A number of women have been unwittingly lured into this scheme by being told they were working on a very important project.

Word History and Origins

Origin of unwittingly¹

unwitting ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

He also worries they may be unwittingly pushing lower-income kids into a sustained cycle of poverty.

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Former audio programmer Isaac Hudd says "mistakes started piling up" during crunch, and says "regressions", where one team would fix a bug only for another to unwittingly bring it back to life, became increasingly common.

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Conservatives, in their efforts to highlight Bad Bunny’s “otherness” – despite the United States being the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world – may have unwittingly educated America on the U.S. citizenship of Puerto Ricans.

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I was so jittery I got plastered on red wine, then unwittingly insulted her with an off-color joke, almost blowing our relationship before it started.

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Those who purchase cheap goods from online sites are unwittingly facilitating this crime and we would urge them to consider this.''

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Related Words

• accidentally 
• unintentionally