Meaning & use

unprecedented

adjective·Academic

Never having happened, been done, or been known before; without an earlier example to compare it to.

See it in a sentence

The city faced unprecedented flooding after three days of nonstop rain.

Sales reached an unprecedented level during the holiday season this year.

A note on using this word

Unprecedented is a strong word reserved for genuinely new or extreme events; overusing it for ordinary occurrences weakens its impact.

Words with a similar meaning

unparalleledunheard-of

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Make it your own

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