unwitting

English

Etymology

From Middle English unwittinge, unwitand, from Old English unwitende (“unwitting; not knowing; unaware; unconscious”), from Proto-Germanic *unwitandz (“not knowing”), equivalent to un- +‎ witting. Cognate with West Frisian ûnwittend, Dutch onwetend, German Low German unwetend, German unwissend and unwissentlich, Icelandic óvitandi.

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɪtɪŋ

Adjective

unwitting (comparative more unwitting, superlative most unwitting)

unaware or uninformed; oblivious
Synonyms: clueless, ignorant; see also Thesaurus:ignorant
Antonyms: aware, cognizant
- 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, OCLC 1261299044, PC, scene: Location of Experiment:
  We've located the perfect site for experimentation on live test subjects. Kadara's "badlands" offer unsupervised access to unwitting test subjects free from any lawful or ethical constraints.
unintentional
- (transl.) 4th century BC, Plato, Sophist, 230a
  Some people, apparently, have thought about it and reached the conclusion that every case of being misinformed is unwitting.
- 1963 May, “News and Comment: Derailment at Bethnal Green”, in Modern Railways, page 299:
  Persistent but unwitting excessive speed over a sharply curved turnout forming part of a double junction, which resulted in slight track distortion, was the primary cause of the derailment of an electric m.u. at Bethnal Green on Saturday, June 17 last.
Synonyms: inadvertent, unintended; see also Thesaurus:unintentional
Antonym: deliberate

Derived terms

unwittingly
unwittingness

Related terms

unweeting
witting

Translations

unaware

Bulgarian: несъзнателен (bg) (nesǎznatelen)
Finnish: tietämätön (fi)
French: inconscient (fr) m, inattention (fr)
German: unwissentlich (de)
Irish: aineolach, ainbhiosach
Italian: ignaro (it), inconsapevole (it)
Manx: anoayllagh, almoragh, dyn-yss
Polish: bezwiedny (pl)
Portuguese: inconsciente (pt)
Spanish: ignorante (es), inconsciente (es)

unintentional

Bulgarian: неволен (bg) (nevolen)
Finnish: tahaton (fi)
French: involontaire (fr), par inadvertance (fr)
German: unabsichtlich (de)
Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃 (unfaurweis)
Irish: taismeach, neamhaistearach
Italian: involontario (it)
Manx: gyn aigney
Polish: bezwiedny (pl)
Portuguese: involuntário (pt)
Spanish: involuntario (es)

References

“unwitting”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.