unsuspecting
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If you're unsuspecting, you are innocent and trusting. An unsuspecting tourist will be blissfully unaware that the smiling old lady on the subway has stolen his wallet. If you lack a sense of suspicion or distrust, especially in the face of some kind of danger, you're unsuspecting. A criminal's unsuspecting victims find themselves utterly surprised that they've been robbed, and an unsuspecting hiker wanders right into a bear's den. In both cases, a little bit of suspicion would have served them well.
Vocabulary lists containing unsuspecting
Wonder
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The Hate U Give
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Small as an Elephant
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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.
Meanwhile, price gouging can mean unsuspecting tourists can be charged upward of $1,000 for rides that last just 20 minutes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Under Mitchell, Pecora showed, the nation’s largest bank had become an impeccably groomed racketeering enterprise, dressing up crooked enterprises as gilt-edged to sell their bonds and stocks to unsuspecting buyers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
“Juiced” was modeled along the lines of “Punk’d,” the Ashton Kutcher-hosted hidden-camera show that set up the unsuspecting for embarrassing moments, a prominent example of cruelty as entertainment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Steve Garidis from the Bicycle Association said retailers have invested in developing safe and legal e-bikes but this can be "undermined by illegal and unsafe products often sold through online marketplaces to unsuspecting consumers".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Nhamo held her breath as the baby dashed up a small tree and hurled himself onto the unsuspecting Fat Cheeks.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
