unparalleled
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of unparalleled
Explanation
If something's unparalleled, there's never been anything like it — such as a brilliant musical performance or a record-breaking time for an athlete. Remember parallel lines from your old geometry classes — lines running alongside each other always at the same distance that never meet and are essentially identical? Well, that's the idea unparalleled comes from — except the opposite (thus the "un"). Sporting achievements are particularly prone to being described as unparalleled, since athletes are always out to break records.
Vocabulary lists containing unparalleled
Frindle
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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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.
But when it comes to The Beatles’ unparalleled legacy, “Revolver” finds the bandmates on an unimpeded trajectory towards greatness.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
No matter how unparalleled the form, it still must follow function.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Messi was a shaggy-haired 20-year-old, just beginning his unparalleled career with Barcelona while Yamal was a cherubic 3-month-old, just beginning his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
When it is tied to "an unparalleled moral eminence", he wrote, a fast unto death "amounts to blackmail".
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
It’s an emotional feeling, an emotional high that is basically unparalleled.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
