Meaning & use
Unbeknown
Last updated
Not known or realized by someone, usually followed by 'to'.
See it in a sentence
Unbeknown to her colleagues, she had already resigned.
He had been ill for weeks, unbeknown to his family.
A note on using this word
Almost always used in the fixed phrase 'unbeknown to'; the longer form 'unbeknownst' is now more common in American English.
Words with a similar meaning
unbeknownstunknown
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Words with an opposite meaning
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