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.
The high-flying machines rely on small, powerful magnets and other key components that are widely available in China's manufacturing ecosystem and unparalleled elsewhere in terms of efficiency and variety.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
“Arm stands out in server CPUs given its unparalleled power efficiency,” Dai said in a Monday note.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
He now somehow finds himself in a naval crisis unparalleled in maritime history.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
The zoo said the aviary, the largest on site, had been designed to offer an "unparalleled" look at Ramasees and Belladonna, and change perceptions about these birds of prey.
From BBC • May 8, 2026
I went on a bit about the doctor’s unparalleled ability to turn simple language into poetry, and for my big finale I read his story of the elephant and the Who-inhabited dust speck.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
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.
