unknown (ʌnˈnəʊn
)
Definitions
adjective
- not known, understood, or recognized
- not established, identified, or discovered ⇒
an unknown island
- not famous; undistinguished ⇒
some unknown artist
- See unknown quantity
noun
- an unknown person, quantity, or thing
- mathematics a variable, or the quantity it represents, the value of which is to be discovered by solving an equation; a variable in a conditional equation ⇒
3y = 4x + 5 is an equation in two unknowns
Alternative Forms
unˈknownness nounSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
strange,
new,
undiscovered,
uncharted,
unexplored,
virgin,
remote,
alien,
exotic,
outlandish,
unmapped
untravelled,
beyond your ken
=
obscure,
little known
minor,
humble,
unfamiliar,
insignificant,
lowly,
unimportant,
unheard-of,
unsung,
inconsequential,
undistinguished,
unrenowned
Translations
- British English:
unknown
If something is unknown to you, you have no knowledge of it.An unknown number of demonstrators were arrested.ʌnˈnəʊn ADJECTIVE An unknown number of demonstrators were arrested.
- Spanish:
desconocido
adj desconocida
- French:
inconnu
adj
- German:
unbekannt
adj
- Chinese: 不知道的 adj
- Arabic: مَجْهُول adj
- Portuguese: desconhecido adj desconhecida
- Russian: неизвестный adj неизвестная
- Croatian: neznan adj neznana
- Czech: neznámý adj
- Danish: ukendt adj
- Dutch: onbekend adj
- Finnish: tuntematon adj
- Greek: άγνωστος adj άγνωστη
- Italian: sconosciuto adj sconosciuta
- Japanese: 未知の no_posp
- Korean: 알려지지 않은 adj
- Norwegian: ukjent adj
- Polish: nieznany adj nieznana
- Brazilian Portuguese: desconhecido adj desconhecida
- European Spanish:
desconocido
adj desconocida
- Swedish: okänd adj okänt
- Thai: ไม่มีใครรู้จัก adj
- Turkish: bilinmez adj
- Vietnamese: không được biết adj
Usage examples
With Ellie being threatened from an unknown source, he'd cast around for likely suspects.
, CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)The cause of the illness, dubbed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), is still unknown.
New Scientist (2003)The biggest test tomorrow will be staying in contention over the closing miles of a distance still relatively unknown to the Irish athlete.
Irish Times (2002)It appears the helicopter was trying to make an emergency landing, but the cause of the crash remains unknown.
Glasgow Herald (2001)It is not unknown for psychiatry to supply such justifications.
, BEYOND FEAR (2002)