unexplained
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Something that's unexplained isn't known or made clear, like an unexplained creaking sound coming from the attic of your grandparents' creepy house. Anything without a clear reason for happening or existing is unexplained, whether it's the mysterious crack in the kitchen window or some lines of movie dialogue spoken in a language you don't understand (and without subtitles). When you explain something, you describe what it is, how it works, or why it exists — and then it's explained. Add the prefix un-, meaning "not," and you get unexplained.
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.
An unexplained increase invites confusion, said Stephen Juneau, an economist at Bank of America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Investigators may be able to identify a likely source for one cluster of cases while other cases remain unexplained or may be linked to a different source,” Rimoin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
"I would like to reassure the public that this is an isolated incident and the death is currently being treated as unexplained," said Davies.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Drexl, two PhD research fellows and a postdoc studied 28 people in Germany who reported hearing an unexplained hum or buzz.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
As though I were carrying around a mysterious, unexplained burden or weight.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
