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unknown definition

un·known (-nōn′)

adjective

not known; specif.,
  1. not in the knowledge, understanding, or acquaintance of someone; unfamiliar (to)
  2. not discovered, identified, determined, explored, etc.

noun

  1. an unknown person or thing
  2. an unknown mathematical quantity: also, a symbol for this

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

unknown Synonyms

unknown

modif.

  1. Not known; said of information

    uncomprehended, unapprehended, undiscovered, untold, unexplained, unascertained, uninvestigated, unexplored, unheard of, unperceived, concealed, hidden, unrevealed.

    Antonyms known*, established*, understood. *

  2. Not known; said of people

    alien, unfamiliar, not introduced, unheard of, obscure, foreign, strange, unacknowledged, anonymous, unnamed, ostracized, outcast, friendless, private, retired, aloof, out of the world, rusticated, forgotten.

  3. Not known; said of terrain

    unexplored, far-off, remote, far, distant, foreign, undiscovered, exotic, hyperborean, transoceanic, transmarine, ultramontane, antipodal, at the far corners of the earth, faraway, at the uttermost ends of the earth, in parts unknown, outlandish, unheard-of, unfrequented, untraveled, desolate, desert, unvisited, legendary, strange, Atlantean.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

unknown Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • remain: Many things about Venus remain unknown, including the cause of mysterious bursts of radio waves.

Adjective modifier

  • exact: Dominoes are thought to have been invented in China, the exact date unknown.

Modifies a noun

  • quantity: We are an unknown quantity, ' Mr Scott admits.

Modifying Another Word

  • hitherto: Is this some hitherto unknown incident in Scottish History in which King James VI reigned in Madrid as well as Edinburgh?

Noun used with modifier

  • provenance: The site is therefore, often assigned to an article that is sold, provenance unknown, to increase its value.

Used with adjective complement

  • remain: The first winter ascent of the gully remains unknown.
unknown usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

unknown quotes

It is fitting that we should have buried the unknown Prime Minister by the side of the Unknown Soldier.

-Asquith

But love a womman that she woot it nought, And she wol quyte it that thow shalt nat fele; Unknowe, unkist, and lost, that is unsought.

-Chaucer, Geoffrey

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Givemea lightthat Imay tread safely intotheunknown.' Hawking And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.'

-Haskins, Minnie Louise

unknown quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"unknown." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
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unknown. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/unknown

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