unwitting

[ uhn-wit-ing ]

adjective

1. not intentional or deliberate; inadvertent; accidental:

   His insult, though unwitting, pained her.

2. not knowing; unaware; ignorant; oblivious; unconscious:

   an unwitting person.

unwitting

/ ʌnˈwɪtɪŋ /

adjective

1. not knowing or conscious
2. not intentional; inadvertent

Derived Forms

• unˈwittingly, adverb
• unˈwittingness, noun

Other Words From

• un·wit·ting·ly adverb
• un·wit·ting·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unwitting¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English unwittende; un- ¹, wit ², -ing ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of unwitting¹

Old English unwitende, from un- ¹+ witting, present participle of witan to know; related to Old High German wizzan to know, Old Norse vita

Example Sentences

It is also important for global consumers to realize how they and their ancestors might have played an unwitting role in this tragedy.

From Time

It aims to determine how well the Moderna vaccine prevents inoculated people from becoming unwitting carriers of the virus.

From Washington Post

Until his death, he was still searching for the last two, a pair of Francesco Guardi landscapes that he suspected were hanging in the home of an unwitting buyer in Florida.

From Washington Post

Such attacks are especially worrisome because of their ability to rapidly distribute malicious computer code to tens of thousands of unwitting customers.

From ProPublica

NSO used real people’s location data to pitch its contact-tracing tech, researchers say — Researchers say NSO’s use of real data “violated the privacy” of thousands of unwitting people.

From TechCrunch

The email appears to have been a relatively common attempt to gain personal information from a wide range of unwitting victims.

From The Daily Beast

Those snakes attacked unwitting passers-by, or invaded homes and hotels.

From The Daily Beast

The average reader, he declares, is but an unwitting receptacle for media narratives.

From The Daily Beast

People who don't believe in us; those unwitting, continuous sources of motivation.

From The Daily Beast

Marcus, for example, argued that Freud was an unwitting modernist master and “Dora” “a great work of literature.”

From The Daily Beast

His unwitting violence sent her spinning, and she fell, knocking her head against a sofa.

From Project Gutenberg

A most important truth is here taught—that even unwitting contact with death might bring sin upon the Nazarite.

From Project Gutenberg

But when she lifted the latch of the gate, a sensation, prompted by some unwitting self-accusal, struck her with alarm.

From Project Gutenberg

Instantly, he was all contrition over his unwitting offense inflicted on her womanly vanity.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a matter of natural taste, developed and strengthened by continual practice, to avoid being the unwitting slave of phrases.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• forgetful
• inadvertent
• uninformed
• unsuspecting