unparalleled
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of unparalleled
Explanation
If something's unparalleled, there's never been anything like it — such as a brilliant musical performance or a record-breaking time for an athlete. Remember parallel lines from your old geometry classes — lines running alongside each other always at the same distance that never meet and are essentially identical? Well, that's the idea unparalleled comes from — except the opposite (thus the "un"). Sporting achievements are particularly prone to being described as unparalleled, since athletes are always out to break records.
Vocabulary lists containing unparalleled
Frindle
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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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.
When it is tied to "an unparalleled moral eminence", he wrote, a fast unto death "amounts to blackmail".
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
During a career that was chock-full of momentous events, The Beatles enjoyed plenty of turning points that contributed to their unparalleled achievements.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
While TSMC’s gross margin is lower than that of SK Hynix, its broader market exposure and unparalleled pricing power on cutting-edge chips offer a better long-term risk/reward outlook, he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
At the same time, Richardson noted that under Greenspan, the Fed’s gravitas and influence in the world had reached unparalleled heights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Nobody, really, was out there advertising the fresh, healthy stuff—the gratifying crunch of a fresh carrot or the unparalleled sweetness of a tomato plucked right off the vine.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
