unbeknown
unbeknown Lexical Profile
unbeknown Game Scores & Validity
• adverb
Without the knowledge or awareness of a particular person (almost always used with "to").
"Unbeknown to the audience, the lead violinist was performing on a borrowed instrument after his own was damaged in transit."
• adjective
Occurring or existing without the knowledge of someone specified (usually followed by "to").
"A quiet administrative change, unbeknown to most of the faculty, altered the funding schedule for the upcoming semester."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Unbeknown" and its variant "unbeknownst" are used almost exclusively with the preposition "to" (as in "unbeknown to me") to introduce a clause or modify an action, rather than directly before a noun.
• Rhymes for unbeknown
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the early 17th century, formed by adding the negative prefix "un-" to the archaic past participle "beknown" (from Old English "gecnawan", meaning to know or recognize).