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 court granted the unprecedented stay on Feb. 9, 2016, without any explanation as to why it temporarily blocked the Clean Power Plan.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
Additionally, AMD should be able to meaningfully raise prices for its server CPUs and other offerings given the unprecedented demand, Luria added.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
The period in which Joyce grew up was dominated by the rise and disastrous fall of Charles Stewart Parnell, of whom Callanan writes: “His public career had brought unprecedented unity of purpose to nationalist Ireland.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
The head of environmental group Legambiente, Stefano Ciafani, described the 18 deaths as an "unprecedented attack on protected wildlife" and an example of "do-it-yourself justice".
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
The latter was an unprecedented institution in the Greek world—a place devoted not only to the religious cult of the Muses, but to advancing human knowledge in the broadest sense.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
