Dictionary

unwittingly en · ADV

Pronunciation

• /ˌən-/ (General-American)
• (Australia) audio
• /ˌʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/ (General-American)
• /ʌnˈwɪtɪŋli/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /-ɾɪŋ-/ (General-American)
• (General-American) audio

Etymology

From Middle English on-wytyngly, un-wetandly, unweteynglye, unwetinglie, un-wetinglye, unwetyngly, unwitandly, unwitendely, unwitingly, unwittandly, unwityngli, unwityngly, unwytyngeleche, unwytyngli, equivalent to unwitting + -ly or un- + wittingly.

Meanings

1. In an unwitting manner; inadvertently, obliviously, unintentionally, unknowingly.
   • Of course those ministers who did support this did so unwittingly in most instances, did they not? By unwittingly I mean not knowing that the whole program was controlled and dominated and instigated by the Communist Party. 1955 June 27, Gordon H[arry] Scherer (questioner), “Testimony of Mrs. Anita Bell Schneider”, in Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles, Calif., Area—Part 1: Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-fourth Congress, First Session, June 27 and 28, 1955: […], Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 1507:
   • "She had asked at Paddington for a return to Lympstone on the Exmouth branch, where her son was due to pass out as a Royal Marine that afternoon, at the local training camp. "Presumably, the booking clerk had misheard her and sold her a ticket to Leominster, and other helpful staff had unwittingly helped her on her way. 2022 July 13, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 961, page 71:
   • This morning, / Paprs of State he ſent me, to peruſe / As I required: and wot you what I found / There (on my Conſcience put vnwittingly) […] 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 220, column 2:
   • [O]nly now it remained that I inquire whether I have right to enter the city of refuge: so I found, that he must not, who lay in wait to shed blood: It was not the wilful murderer, but he who unwittingly did it, he who did it unawares; not out of spite, or grudge, or malice, he that shed it unwittingly: even he who did not hate his neighbour before. Wherefore, […] I thought verily I was the man that must enter, because I had smitten my neighbour unwittingly, and hated Him not aforetime. 1666, John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners: […], London: Printed by George Larkin, →OCLC; republished as Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners in a Faithful Account of the Life and Death of John Bunyan: […], London: The Religious Tract Society, […], [1905], →OCLC, paragraphs 218–219, page 123:
   • Germany is a nation on the brink. On Tuesday, perhaps unwittingly, a handful of members of parliament decided to see how much further they could push it. 2025 May 7, Mark Sappenfield, “Merz wins in vote that reveals the challenges ahead for Germany”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
   • In the fall of 2016, [Hugh] Hefner was the subject of rumors about his health. As per his wishes, he was to be buried in a crypt next to that of Marilyn Monroe, who'd unwittingly helped launch Playboy into the multi-million-dollar business it became. 2017 September 27, David Browne, “Hugh Hefner, ‘Playboy’ Founder, Dead at 91: Legendary Magazine Editor Helped Spark the Sexual Revolution”, in Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2018:
   • She realized to her horror that she had unwittingly helped those people she most despised.
   • I have had a deep sense of the sad consequences of mistakes, in things capital; and their impossibility of recovering when compleated; and what grief of heart it brings to a tender conscience, to have been unwittingly encouraging of the sufferings of the innocent. 1697, John Hale, “The Preface”, in A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft, […], Boston, Mass.: Printed by B[artholomew] Green, and J[ohn] Allen, for Benjamin Eliot […], published 1702, →OCLC, page 11; reprinted in “Memoir of the Rev. John Hale”, in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, volume VII (Third Series), Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, 1838, →OCLC, page 264:

Forms

Antonyms

purposely · advertently · intentionally · deliberately · knowingly · consciously

Relateds

unwittingness · unwitting · unweeting · wittingly · witting

Translations (41)

nl ongewild (in an unwitting manner) · ga gan fhios (in an unwitting manner) · pl bezwiednie (in an unwitting manner) · da uforsætligt (in an unwitting manner) · ga go haineolach (in an unwitting manner) · de ohne es zu wissen (in an unwitting manner) · lv neviļus (in an unwitting manner) · el αθέλητα (in an unwitting manner) · es sin comerlo ni beberlo (in an unwitting manner) · fr involontairement (in an unwitting manner) · de irrtümlich (in an unwitting manner) · ka უნებლიეთ (in an unwitting manner) · gv gyn yss dhyt hene (in an unwitting manner) · lv negribot (in an unwitting manner) · ga gan fhios duit féin (in an unwitting manner) · ka უნდომლად (in an unwitting manner) · gd gun fhiosta (in an unwitting manner) · de ohne sich dessen bewusst zu sein (in an unwitting manner) · de ungewollt (in an unwitting manner) · sv omedvetet (in an unwitting manner) · de unbeabsichtigt (in an unwitting manner) · es sin querer (in an unwitting manner) · ka უცოდინრად (in an unwitting manner) · it inconsapevolmente (in an unwitting manner) · da uvidende (in an unwitting manner) · fi tahtomattaan (in an unwitting manner) · ga go hainbhiosach (in an unwitting manner) · ka უნებურად (in an unwitting manner) · fr inconsciemment (in an unwitting manner) · sv oavsiktligt (in an unwitting manner) · sv ovetandes (in an unwitting manner) · fi tietämättään (in an unwitting manner) · de unabsichtlich (in an unwitting manner) · it involontariamente (in an unwitting manner) · cs nevědomky (in an unwitting manner) · ka შემთხვევით (in an unwitting manner) · ca inconscientment (in an unwitting manner) · gv neucheeayllagh (in an unwitting manner) · es accidentalmente (in an unwitting manner) · da intetanende (in an unwitting manner) · pl nieświadomie (in an unwitting manner)