Dictionary

unknown en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈnoʊn/ (US)
• (US) audio
• ŭn-nōnʹ (US)
• /ʌn(ˈn)əʊn/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English *unknowen, *uniknowen, uniknowe, from Old English unġecnāwen (“unknown”), equivalent to un- + known.

Meanings

1. (postpositional, sometimes) Not known; unidentified; not well known.
   • The concept has existed since times unknown.
   • I suspect that this large and complex military railway system, shrouded in official secrecy for most of its operational life, remains unknown to many people. 2022 January 12, Chris Hegg, “The secret railway in the woods”, in RAIL, number 948, page 34:
   • The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on a certain afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 58:

Forms

Antonyms

famous · recognized · well-known · familiar · ascertained · recognizable · famous · known · known · well-known

Deriveds

unknown quantity · unknown unknown · unknown known · unknown number · as yet unknown · unknownly · unknome · person unknown · unknownness · as-yet-unknown · parts unknown

Hyponyms

unfamous · mysterious

Relateds

infra dignitatem · incomprehensible · hidden · infra dig

Synonyms

uninvestigated · unsung · unidentified · unrecognized · anonymous · unfamiliar · unexplained · strange · unrevealed · unrevealed · uncharted · undiscovered · undiscovered · obscure · unrecognized · unnamed · ignote · unascertained · unapprehended · obscure · knownless · unascertained · unknown · unexplored · unfamiliar

Translations (110)

lt nežinomas (not known) · zza nêzanıyen (not known) · ru неве́домый (not known) · lv svešs (not known) · az məchul (not known) · la ignotus (not known) · hi अख्यात (not known) · ka უცნობი (not known) · sl neznan (not known) · ast desconocíu (not known) · id tak diketahui (not known) · cs neznámý (not known) · nn ukjent (not known) · tr bilinmez (not known) · pdt onbekaunt (not known) · hu ismeretlen (not known) · it sconosciuto (not known) · sh не̏познат (not known) · zza mechul (not known) · nl ongeweten (not known) · pl nieznany (not known) · hy անհայտ (not known) · la ignoratus (not known) · oc desconegut (not known) · mk непознат (not known) · kk беймәлім (not known) · is ókunnur (not known) · he לא נודע (not known) · uz majhul (not known) · tr bilinmeyen (not known) · uz nomaʼlum (not known) · grc ἄγνωτος (not known) · ky белгисиз (not known) · nl onbekend (not known) · fa مجهول (not known) · ckb نەناسراو (not known) · es desconocido (not known) · sq panjohur (not known) · ar مُبْهَم (not known) · sa अज्ञात (not known) · ja 無名な (not known) · ro necunoscut (not known) · kk мәлімсіз (not known) · ko 무명(無名)의 (not known) · sv okänd (not known) · el άγνωστος (not known) · uk невідо́мий (not known) · uk незнайо́мий (not known) · fi tuntematon (not known) · ja 未知の (not known) · kk белгісіз (not known) · ru неизве́стный (not known) · is óþekktur (not known) · la incognitus (not known) · pl niewiadomy (not known) · ar مَجْهُول (not known) · cy anhysbys (not known) · be незнаёмы (not known) · hi नामालूम (not known) · it ignoto (not known) · da ubekendt (not known) · hi अनजाना (not known) · ru незнако́мый (not known) · cmn 不明 (not known) · eo nekonata (not known) · sk neznámy (not known) · zza nêzanıyaye (not known) · az naməlum (not known) · tg ношинос (not known) · hi अनजान (not known) · sl nepoznan (not known) · hi अजाना (not known) · lv nepazīstams (not known) · bg неизве́стен (not known) · bg незна́ен (not known) · la obscurus (not known) · vi không biết (not known) · ja 不明な (not known) · be невядо́мы (not known) · ca desconegut (not known) · grc ἄγνωστος (not known) · pl nieznajomy (not known) · ota بللیسز (not known) · hi मजहूल (not known) · ro neștiut (not known) · ro obscur (not known) · nl ongekend (not known) · sh nȅpoznat (not known) · hi अज्ञात (not known) · da ukendt (not known) · nb ukjent (not known) · uk незна́ний (not known) · cmn 未知 (not known) · tg маҷҳул (not known) · de unbekannt (not known) · ckt гэвэты ваԓьын (not known) · la nescitus (not known) · ko 미지(未知)의 (not known) · tr meçhul (not known) · ko 불명(不明)의 (not known) · et tundmatu (not known) · es ignoto (not known) · gl descoñecido (not known) · scn scanusciutu (not known) · az bilinməyən (not known) · got 𐌿𐌽𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌸𐍃 (not known) · izh tiitämätöin (not known) · tg номаълум (not known) · fr inconnu (not known) · pt desconhecido (not known)

unknown en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈnoʊn/ (US)
• (US) audio
• ŭn-nōnʹ (US)
• /ʌn(ˈn)əʊn/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English *unknowen, *uniknowen, uniknowe, from Old English unġecnāwen (“unknown”), equivalent to un- + known.

Meanings

1. A variable (usually x, y or z) whose value is to be found.
2. Any thing, place, or situation about which nothing is known; an unknown fact or piece of information.
   • The other priority is getting people to respond well to interventions, especially changes to routine. This is one of the biggest unknowns in these scenarios, and yet compliance can be the most crucial factor in determining whether an intervention works. 2020 April 9, Ian Boyd, “We practised for a pandemic, but didn’t brace”, in Nature, volume 580, number 7802, page 9:
   • As we know, There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know There are known unknowns. That is to say We know there are some things We do not know. 2003 [2002], Donald Rumsfeld, edited by Hart Seely, Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld:
   • I think I learned more from my family than they did from me in the brief idyllic time we spent together. None of them much more than a mile from home, they carried the aura of a close-knit community as a shield against against the unknown. 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 217:
   • Had God walked close beside her into the unknown? 1957, Ethel Erford Hewitt, Into the Unknown: An Historical Novel, page 351:
3. A person of no identity; a nonentity.
   • How does it feel, / how does it feel? / To be on your own, / with no direction home / A complete unknown, / like a rolling stone 1965, Bob Dylan, “Like a Rolling Stone”, in Bob Dylan (lyrics), Highway 61 Revisited (vinyl), performed by Bob Dylan, Columbia Records, →OCLC, side A of retail US single; on YouTube, English - en (en-nP7-2PuUl7o) subtitles 2:21.875 --> 2:48.701:
   • Khaleque, the landowner, who had contributed most of the money needed to transform the neglected burial-place of an unknown into a mazar, masked his pride and pleasure with difficulty. He solemnly declared: ‘Perhaps now we shall be forgiven for neglecting the saint all these years.’ 1967 [1949], Syed Waliullah, chapter 3, in Tree Without Roots (Fiction), London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 27:

Forms

Deriveds

unknown unknown · known unknown

Translations (55)

bg неизвестно (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · fi tuntematon (fact or place) · pt incógnita (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · la incognitus (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · sv okänd (person of no identity) · tr değişken (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · gl descoñecido (person of no identity) · la incognita (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · hu ismeretlen (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ar مُبْهَم (person of no identity) · fi tuntematon (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ja 未知数 (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · es desconocido (fact or place) · de Unbekannte (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · pt desconhecido (fact or place) · it carneade (person of no identity) · gl descoñecido (fact or place) · sh nepoznata (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · mk непозната (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · gl incógnita (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · hu ismeretlen (fact or place) · fr inconnue (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · et tundmatu (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · is óþekkt stærð (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · lt nežinomasis (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · la incogniti (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · la incognitum (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ja 名無し (person of no identity) · ja 未知 (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · sh непозната (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · fr inconnu (fact or place) · cy anhysbysyn (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · uk невідома (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ar غَامِض (fact or place) · lv nezināmais (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · la incognitae (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · hu idegen (person of no identity) · ar مَجْهُول (person of no identity) · cs neznámá (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ar مُتَغَيِّر (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · es incógnita (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · pt desconhecido (person of no identity) · hy անհայտ (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · de Unbekannter (person of no identity) · pl niewiadoma (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ar غَوَامِض (fact or place) · la incognita (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · el άγνωστος (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · gl descoñecida (person of no identity) · zza vurnaynoğ (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ro necunoscută (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · nb ukjent (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · ca incògnita (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · cmn 未知數 /未知数 (algebra: a variable whose value is to be found) · cmn 無名氏 /无名氏 (person of no identity)

unknown en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ʌnˈnoʊn/ (US)
• (US) audio
• ŭn-nōnʹ (US)
• /ʌn(ˈn)əʊn/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English *unknowen, *uniknowen, uniknowe, from Old English unġecnāwen (“unknown”), equivalent to un- + known.

Meanings

1. (form-of, participle, past) past participle of unknow
   form of unknow