Meaning & use
unknown entity
Last updated
Meaning
phrasecountable
A person, group, or thing whose nature, qualities, or intentions are not yet known or understood.
Grammar: Used as a countable noun phrase: an unknown entity, the unknown entity. The plural is unknown entities.
Patterns
- an unknown entity
- a relatively unknown entity
- treat someone as an unknown entity
The new manager is still an unknown entity to most of the staff.
Investors are wary of putting money into an unknown entity.
In the world of politics, she remains a largely unknown entity.
Word forms
| plural | unknown entities |
|---|
Common combinations
- a relatively unknown entity
- The startup was a relatively unknown entity until last year.
- still an unknown entity
- The candidate is still an unknown entity to many voters.
- a largely unknown entity
- The disease was a largely unknown entity at the time.
- treat someone as an unknown entity
- The team treated the new player as an unknown entity at first.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unknown quantity
- Very similar, but often used for a person whose abilities are not yet known, especially in sports or work.
- mystery
- Stronger and more general; it suggests something puzzling that cannot be explained, not just something not yet known.
Opposites
Commonly confused: unknown entity or unknown territory?
unknown entity vs unknown territory
Unknown territory refers to an unfamiliar situation or area, while unknown entity refers to a person or thing whose nature is not known.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'unknown entity' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An unknown entity is a person or thing whose qualities are not yet known, so a new CEO fits. Option 2 is wrong because 'unknown entity' is not a place. Option 3 is wrong because a mountain range is a physical place, not an entity in this sense. Option 4 is wrong because the phrase is not used as an adjective for feelings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unknown entity”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.