unprecedented
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- unprecedentedly adverb
- unprecedentedness noun
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.
The unprecedented profitability reflects surging demand for memory chips and the industry bonanza that stems from a global AI build out that shows no sign at all of slowing down.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 23, 2026
These surveillance tech partnerships are becoming entrenched, domestically and abroad, as advances in AI take surveillance to unprecedented levels.
From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026
While some naysayers doubted Cook could carry the brand forward, he has proven them wrong, leading the company on an unprecedented growth spurt.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
Northrop Grumman NOC -1.24%decrease; red down pointing triangle logged a jump in profit and higher sales in the first quarter, amid what Chief Executive Kathy Warden called an unprecedented global demand environment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
American Correctional Association President Gwendolyn Chunn put the matter more bluntly that same year when lamenting that the unprecedented prison expansion boom of the 1990s seemed to be leveling off.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
