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Synonyms

terra incognita

American  
[ter-uh in-kog-ni-tuh, in-kog-nee-, ter-rah in-kawg-ni-tah] / ˈtɛr ə ɪnˈkɒg nɪ tə, ˌɪn kɒgˈni-, ˈtɛr rɑ ɪnˈkɔg nɪ tɑ /

noun

  1. an unknown or unexplored land, region, or subject.

terra incognita British  
/ ˈtɛrə ɪnˈkɒɡnɪtə /

noun

  1. an unexplored or unknown land, region, or area for study

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The search for terra incognita can explain the explosion, in the 20th century, of science fiction and magical realism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025

This is really quite intriguing as we do not know much about these parts of the genome; our work shows there is benefit in exploring further this genetic terra incognita.'

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2024

Let them believe that the Puget Sound region is terra incognita and perhaps they won’t come out here.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 5, 2024

For many years, the human Y chromosome was terra incognita.

From Scientific American • Sep. 27, 2023

She gets banished to bras, which is terra incognita for us—huge banks of shelves bearing barely distinguishable bi-coned objects—for a three-hour stretch.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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.