unbeknown

un·be·known

U u

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [uhn-bi-nohn]
- /ˌʌn bɪˈnoʊn/
- /ˌʌn.bɪˈnəʊn/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [uhn-bi-nohn]
- /ˌʌn bɪˈnoʊn/

Definitions of unbeknown word

adjective unbeknown unknown; unperceived; without one's knowledge (usually followed by to). 1
adverb unbeknown without the knowledge (of a person) 0
adjective unbeknown not known (to) 0
adjective unbeknown unknown or unperceived; without one's knowledge 0
adjective unbeknown not beknown. 0

See all 5 definitions of unbeknown

Information block about the term

Origin of unbeknown

First appearance:

before 1630

One of the 42% oldest English words

1630-40; un-1 + beknown (late Middle English beknowe, past participle of beknowen); see be-, known

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Unbeknown

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Unbeknown

unbeknown popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 59% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 58% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

unbeknown usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer