unknown

[ uhn-nohn ]

/ ʌnˈnoʊn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unknown ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not known; not within the range of one's knowledge, experience, or understanding; strange; unfamiliar.

not discovered, explored, identified, or ascertained: the unknown parts of Antarctica.

not widely known; not famous; obscure: an unknown writer.

noun

a thing, influence, area, factor, or person that is unknown: the many unknowns in modern medicine; The director cast an unknown in the leading role.

Mathematics. a symbol representing an unknown quantity: in algebra, analysis, etc., frequently represented by a letter from the last part of the alphabet, as x, y, or z.

Content related to unknown

What Are Context Clues?What are context clues? Context clues are hints that an author gives to help define a difficult or unusual word within a book. The clue may appear within the same sentence as the word to which it refers or it may follow in the next sentence. Because most of our vocabulary is gained through reading, it is important that we are able to recognize and take …

Whomever vs. Whoever Raise your hand if you’ve had the who vs. whom argument. Isn’t it time to put that struggle to rest? Whoever is a pronoun that describes someone who performs an action, while whomever is a pronoun that describes someone who receives an action. Both whoever and whomever are interrogative pronouns that deal with people. Whoever Whoever is a subjective pronoun: It describes an unknown person …

Words related to unknown

unexplored, exotic, unidentified, remote, undiscovered, unfamiliar, foreign, strange, anonymous, new, nameless, unnamed, uncharted, unexplained, unrecognized, dark, alien, far, secret, so-and-so

Words nearby unknown

unknightly, unknit, unknot, unknowable, unknowing, unknown, unknown quantity, unknown soldier, unlace, unlade, unlaid

Origin of unknown

First recorded in 1250–1300, unknown is from the Middle English word unknow(e)n. See un-¹, known

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unknown

While Faal and Njie are in U.S. custody, the whereabouts of the other survivors is unknown.
The Shadowy U.S. Veteran Who Tried to Overthrow a Country|Jacob Siegel|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The police suspect that the other unaccounted for 643,000 bitcoins, were removed from customer accounts via an unknown party.
Japanese Bitcoin Heist ‘an Inside Job,’ Not Hackers Alone|Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky, Jake Adelstein|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Until recently, the hacker collective known as Lizard Squad was all but unknown.
The Attack on the Hidden Internet|Marc Rogers|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I believe that my case is being interfered with by unknown elements inside Iran.
An American Marine in Iran’s Prisons Goes on Hunger Strike|IranWire|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We are not concerned or jittered about an unknown candidate.
Liberian Senatorial Elections Defy Ebola|Wade Williams|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The common serpent was unknown to us; but with our voices alone we managed to make a formidable noise.
Christmas Stories from French and Spanish writers|Antoinette Ogden
Determination and efficiency are not unknown in His Majesty's Navy.
The Blocking of Zeebrugge|Alfred F. B. Carpenter
The defendant's whereabouts were unknown to us, your Honor, and the court allowed us to serve notice by publication.
Lightnin'|Frank Bacon
The byssus is unknown to us, but the stuffs of Lyons are more valuable.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
To those who hold this opinion, the system of reverberating praise from one journal to another, must be unknown.
The American Quarterly Review|Various

British Dictionary definitions for unknown

unknown

/ (ʌnˈnəʊn) /

adjective

not known, understood, or recognized

not established, identified, or discoveredan unknown island

not famous; undistinguishedsome unknown artist

unknown quantity a person or thing whose action, effect, etc, is unknown or unpredictable

noun

an unknown person, quantity, or thing

maths a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation; a variable in a conditional equation3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns

Derived forms of unknown

unknownness, noun

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