unaware
Americanadjective
adverb
adjective
-
(postpositive) not aware or conscious (of)
unaware of the danger, he ran across the road
-
not fully cognizant of what is going on in the world
he's the most unaware person I've ever met
adverb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unaware
First recorded in 1585–95; un- 1 + aware; compare Middle English unywar ( see y-)
Explanation
Unaware is simply the opposite of "aware." If you are unaware, you have no idea what's going on. To be unaware is to be totally incognizant (but not incontinent). To be "caught unawares" means you were caught off guard or by surprise. Either way you've got your head in the clouds about something. Now some people might say that ignorance is bliss, but the guy in the crosswalk who was unaware of the bus barreling down on him at full speed might disagree.
Vocabulary lists containing unaware
Novel Study: Of Mice and Men, Chapters 1–3
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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
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"Shakespeare dumbed down in comic strips for bored pupils"
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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.
Company executives also told Fitch that they were unaware they were making related-party loans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
It remained to be seen if the guidance would be adhered to on Saturday, with the shrine saying staff would "provide guidance" at the entrance to those "unaware".
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
He’s not unaware that Meyers’ mostly 20-something male friends have — like many — romanticized the gritty abandon of lower Manhattan’s bygone literary scene and perhaps Ed’s tenuous place in it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Although they said they were unaware of the condition of the pair, who had consumed just milk and either honey or salt in water during their strikes.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
They were unaware that the Garretts, already guilty of inhospitality, were conspiring to commit a worse offense: treachery.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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.
