Word of the Day : June 6, 2018

unbeknownst \un-bih-NOHNST\ adjective

Definition

1 : happening or existing without the knowledge of someone specified — usually used with to

2 : not known or not well-known : unknown

Did You Know?

Unbeknownst is an irregular variant of the older unbeknown, which derives from beknown, an obsolete synonym of known. But for a word with a straightforward history, unbeknownst and the now less common unbeknown have caused quite a stir among usage commentators. In spite of widespread use (including appearances in the writings of Charles Dickens, A. E. Housman, and E. B. White), the grammarian H. W. Fowler in 1926 categorized the two words as "out of use except in dialect or uneducated speech." The following year, G. P. Krapp called them "humorous, colloquial, and dialectal." Our evidence, however, shows that both words are standard even in formal prose.

Build your vocabulary! Get Word of the Day in your inbox every day.

Test Your Vocabulary



  Winning Words from Scripps Spelling Bee Quiz








    Which is the correct spelling of the winning word from 1964?




                                  sycophant
                                  sichophant
                                  sicophent
                                  sychophant








    Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
    TAKE THE QUIZ






    Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
    TAKE THE QUIZ

Aired June 6, 2018

All Merriam-Webster content is available at www.merriam-webster.com