unsuspecting
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If you're unsuspecting, you are innocent and trusting. An unsuspecting tourist will be blissfully unaware that the smiling old lady on the subway has stolen his wallet. If you lack a sense of suspicion or distrust, especially in the face of some kind of danger, you're unsuspecting. A criminal's unsuspecting victims find themselves utterly surprised that they've been robbed, and an unsuspecting hiker wanders right into a bear's den. In both cases, a little bit of suspicion would have served them well.
Vocabulary lists containing unsuspecting
Wonder
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The Hate U Give
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Small as an Elephant
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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.
Steve Garidis from the Bicycle Association said retailers have invested in developing safe and legal e-bikes but this can be "undermined by illegal and unsafe products often sold through online marketplaces to unsuspecting consumers".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
What the Emmy-winning series has undeniably done is bring soccer into millions of unsuspecting households that had previously avoided the sport like a plague.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
As with other cases reported in recent weeks by OpenAI and Anthropic, the AI model was tuned to be capable of hacking and then inadvertently unleashed onto unsuspecting victims during benchmark testing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Starting in April, AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic left their test-beds and broke into unsuspecting corporations in unprecedented cyberattacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The angrier, more powerful ghosts used the trolley to find new hosts: tired, unsuspecting bodies to possess for a little while, warmth to steal from cheeks and other exposed skin, and ill tempers to stoke.
From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland
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.
