unprecedented
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unprecedented
Explanation
Something that is unprecedented is not known, experienced, or done before. If you've never gone on a family beach vacation but you're planning one now, you could refer to it as an unprecedented decision. The root of this word is precedent, a noun referring to something done or said that is used as an example to be followed in the future. In law, a precedent is a legal decision that is used as a standard in future cases. So the adjective unprecedented, meaning "having no precedent," was formed from the prefix un- "not," the noun precedent, and the suffix –ed "having."
Vocabulary lists containing unprecedented
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 5
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Fast Food Nation
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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.
“Everest: The Other Side,” from filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, follows mountaineers Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison as they prepare to climb Everest’s north face and attempt an unprecedented ski descent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
David McMullen, senior organiser for the trade union GMB, said caution needed to be taken with the roll-out of driverless cars unless people were "prepared to see unprecedented levels of social and economic disruption".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Snowfall in this famously dry region is not unprecedented.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
He promptly won consecutive World Series championships and helped carry the Dodgers to unprecedented revenues that the Angels never realized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“An athlete was in the show. It was unprecedented, and it was shocking.”
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
