unknown1 adjective, adverbunknown2 noun
unknownun‧known1 /ˌʌnˈnəʊn◂ $ -ˈnoʊn◂/ ●●● W2 adjective, adverb 
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- After they left Kathmandu they would be travelling through unknown territory.
- an unknown artist
- As an unknown author, it isn't easy to get your work published.
- For some unknown reason, Fred quit his job and moved to Alaska.
- Horn was beaten by a relatively unknown politician in the last election.
- Most of the stars in the movie are unknown to US audiences.
- She said the flowers were from an unknown admirer.
- The Internet has opened up a marketplace where sellers and buyers are virtually unknown to each other.
- The picture was painted in the 15th Century by an unknown Italian artist.
- The year of Gabor's birth is unknown.
- There are still a great many unknown insect species in the world.
- Until their first single, the Beatles were virtually unknown outside Hamburg and Liverpool.
- We met near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
- Yesterday the village was quite unknown, but today it's on the front page of all the newspapers.
Longman Language Activatornot famous
not at all famous: · As an unknown author, it isn't easy to get your work published.· Horn was beaten by a relatively unknown politician in the last election.
someone or something that is obscure is known about only by a few people, because they belong to a group, place, or subject that not many people know about or are interested in: · He's using an obscure old law to try to stop the new road being built.· The lines were written by an obscure English poet named Mordaunt.
someone who is very ordinary and not at all famous or important: · After all her hard work, she didn't want to end up just a nobody.· A lot of the rich people who come in here treat us like nobodies.
a person or place that not many people know or know about · The picture was painted in the 15th Century by an unknown Italian artist.· Until their first single, the Beatles were virtually unknown outside Hamburg and Liverpool.unknown to · The Internet has opened up a marketplace where sellers and buyers are virtually unknown to each other.
a little known artist, film etc is one that very few people know about: · A little-known separatist group claimed responsibility for the explosion.· Bernardo Vittone is little known outside his native Italy.
not at all well-known and usually not very important: · Picasso's first exhibition received only a short mention in an obscure Parisian newspaper.· The Silver Apples are one of those obscure bands that you might hear about, but never actually hear.
written a mysterious person that people know very little about, especially someone who seems dangerous: · Vogel, a high-ranking official in East Berlin, was one of the Cold War's most shadowy figures.
someone that very little is known about, especially in relation to their abilities, so that you do not know if they will be successful: · The team's new pitcher has never played pro baseball before and is something of an unknown quantity.
something that people know nothing or very little about · After they left Kathmandu they would be travelling through unknown territory.· There are still a great many unknown insect species in the world.· Yesterday the village was quite unknown, but today it's on the front page of all the newspapers.
a place or an experience that people have not been in before and that they are therefore often nervous about: · In 1492 Columbus and his group of tiny ships set off into the unknown.· Starting a new relationship with someone is always a journey into the unknown.fear of the unknown: · The fear of the unknown prevents many people from making significant changes in their lives.
relating to places that have not been put on a map yet, or to situations that have not yet been experienced: · Space is filled with unknown stars and uncharted galaxies.uncharted territory: · When Indian politicians established mass democracy in 1947, they knew they were entering uncharted territory.
if something is unidentified , people do not know what it is, what its name is, or who it belongs to - used especially in newspapers or in official reports: · A large unidentified object was spotted floating in the sea near our ship.· Two unidentified gunmen opened fire on the Consulate van.· The body remained unidentified until the police checked dental records.
a little known place or thing is one that not many people know about: · He was born on a little known island off the south coast of Spain.· The kakapo is a little known species of parrot that lives in New Zealand.
someone whose name is not known someone who is anonymous does something without saying what their name is, or their name is not known: · The writer of the poem is anonymous.an anonymous donor (=someone who gives something but does not say publicly who they are): · $50,000 has been given to the charity by an anonymous donor from Utah.anonymous letter/phone call (=from someone who does not say their name): · I received anonymous phone calls warning me not to go to the police about what I'd seen.somebody wishes to remain anonymous: · One source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he had seen the woman go into his room.
an unnamed person is someone whose name has not been made known publicly: · An unnamed bidder paid $23 million for the painting.· The newspaper received the information from an unnamed source.
an unidentified person is someone whose name is not known because police or government officials have been unable to find out who they are, or have not said who they are: · Five men were wounded by an unidentified gunman in Belfast city centre yesterday.· The three bodies found in the river remain unidentified.· An unidentified caller contacted the police and gave the names of the men involved in the robbery.
if a famous person goes somewhere incognito , they go there without telling people who they are: · He tried to go incognito but his bizarre disguise made him stand out even more.
an unknown person is someone whose name is not known because you do not know them or because they are not famous: · She said the flowers were from an unknown admirer.· We met near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.unknown to: · Most of the stars in the movie are unknown to US audiences.
a nameless person is one of many people who are not famous and whose names are not generally known: · No one gives much thought to the nameless millions who work in our factories.· the nameless victims of the nation's civil war
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
The murderer’s identity remains unknown. For some unknown reason, Mark quit his job and moved to Greece. An unknown number of people were killed.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a species of fish hitherto unknown in the West He was born in France in 1670 of unknown parentage (=nobody knows who his parents were). murder by person or persons unknownCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
The murderer’s identity remains unknown. For some unknown reason, Mark quit his job and moved to Greece. An unknown number of people were killed. a species of fish hitherto unknown in the West (=used to say that no one knows where, when, or how something started)· an ancient folk tale of unknown origin
He was born in France in 1670 of unknown parentage (=nobody knows who his parents were). murder by person or persons unknown· In the nineteenth century such arrests were almost unknown.· Pilfering, which can add millions to the cost of a modern project, was almost unknown.· Eric Touchaleaume looks back more than fifty years, with twelve almost unknown works by Max Ernst.· The M79 is almost unknown outside military circles.· That is certainly a contributing factor, but similar conditions obtain in other countries where kidnapping is almost unknown.· Fresh vegetables and fruit were almost unknown.· The condition is, however, almost unknown among healthy men of the same age as those in the survey.· For half a century it was almost unknown.
· Sold to the museum by the New York conservator Mario Modestini, its early history is completely unknown.· Given his statistical results, he conjectured the existence of some otherwise completely unknown feature - the genetic code.· They don't want a completely unknown counsellor to come in at this time.· There is nowhere in the Old World where the threat of marauding greenskins is completely unknown.· There may be many different bacterial species completely unknown because they can not be cultured.
· This has uncovered some interesting findings - for instance the hitherto unknown demand for 3.3V chips from desktop system designers.· We are amid corruption of a hitherto unknown scale but not without some precedent.· But Brindley's canal from the coal-mines at Worsley to Manchester had several features hitherto unknown.· Isabel trembled, half afraid, half shocked, at such shameless, hitherto unknown longings.· It now remains to ask whether there is any significance in this hitherto unknown fact.· No details are given of this hitherto unknown organisation, but the platform put forward by the paper looks like pure Thatcherism.· Recently a hitherto unknown phenomenon has appeared in Illela: property speculation.· This meant seeking out even more diverse wines from hitherto unknown sources, which further taxed the new-found art of blending.
· Although largely unknown in Britain, Lafaille has an impressive rock climbing curriculum vitae.· But on the national level they are novices, limited specialists or largely unknown quantities.· He possesses non-physical properties and energies that are still largely unknown and uncharted by traditional science.· Rick Lazio, 42, a moderate from Long Island who is largely unknown statewide but carries little obvious baggage.· He was largely unknown to football when last June he was introduced to Edwards, the chairman and majority shareholder of United.· Tributes were largely unknown to Ford's injected Cologne V6, but it is a worthy enough trooper.· Derrick Smith, remains largely unknown even on this Marine Corps base where he is stationed.
· This special afternoon sale will put on offer an album of fifty-eight previously unknown drawings by Henry Fuseli.· It was a remarkable discovery, a previously unknown chemical process that Knittle had stumbled on to.· The essence of research, surely, must be the revelation of previously unknown facts.· The researchers now believe they have identified the culprit: a previously unknown strain of herpes virus.· Most important of all he has run down a number of performances previously unknown.· But it also contained information previously unknown to either Tanimizu or Sakaida.· The cause was eventually tracked down to a previously unknown bacterium, given the name Legionella pneumophila.· Overnight a panic spiral of previously unknown proportions will develop.
· In some cultures, critical analysis of texts is relatively unknown and may, indeed, be thought offensive.· McCarthy, with his unpredictability, and the relatively unknown McGovern were not his kind of candidate.· Zara is relatively unknown outside Ulster so we have featured her in our Second Set series elsewhere in this issue.· The critics reserved their worst words for the relatively unknown George Corraface, who plays Columbus.· He was relatively unknown, but was praised by Iliescu for his grasp of the country's economic problems.· It was inherent in the project that Blackeyes should be played by a relatively unknown, inexperienced actress.· Part of the reason she's been relatively unknown there is that she was not a public figure.· The relatively unknown signing from homespun Grimsby was elevated to star status over a week-end.
· Police are working on some leads, but the motive for the attack is still unknown.· However, it is still unknown how much of that money came from Florida investors, she said.· Whether only the codon 129 genotype contributes to the molecular basis of this anticipation phenomenon is still unknown.· The precise cause of this serious disease is still unknown.· McQueen's most fruitful period in films had been in the sixties while Dustin was still unknown outside off-Broadway.· What factors determine whether the virus remains dormant or begins reproduction are still unknown.· The significance of the orientation of fields in Central Veracruz is still unknown.· But the nature of that involvement and the degree to which it is manifested in a given alcoholic is still unknown.
· A father may choose to be totally unknown to both mother and child by supplying his semen to a sperm bank.· On the other hand, there is the lay congregation, to whom biblical scholarship is totally unknown territory.· As for Wayne Pollock and Clive Smott, they are totally unknown quantities.· Not that the Soviets were totally unknown before that.· The successful one was made by a couple totally unknown in Teesdale.· I had already seen pictures by Popova, Klyun, and other artists who were then totally unknown.· For reasons now totally unknown, people in the past had chosen to travel to this field to weigh various substances.· But it's less risky than pointing to totally unknown items on a menu.
· They must be less common in wine-drinking regions and virtually unknown in strictly Mohammedan countries.· Even more than most of his predecessors, Gorbachev was virtually unknown in the West when he came to power.· Union membership is virtually unknown except for isolated technicians like film projection people.· As an accurate observer of, and extensive traveller in, a virtually unknown land he was unrivalled.· He was virtually unknown in the United States.· Atheism is virtually unknown in pagan and rural societies, but this new rationalism will usher it into the modern world.· Materialism has until recently been virtually unknown in Confucian societies.
NOUN· The stage I patient died 8 years after diagnosis from an unknown cause.· They seem more like a symbol of some unknown cause than just six ounces each of chunk white packed in spring water.· A baby died later from unknown causes.
· In addition, it is possible that hypertension and obesity are linked by a common but as yet unknown factor.· Research has indicated that narcoleptics have a set of genes that are triggered by unknown factors to cause narcolepsy.· The unknown factor is the cost of copper.· An unknown factor, analysts said, is the tribulations of the ruling Conservative government.· The present study indicates that H pylori infection is not the unknown factor.· The unknown factor is whether this absence will force the national selectors to look elsewhere.· Its position will also depend on the whereabouts of the bridge across the river, which is another unknown factor.
· The demonstrators attacked and burned buildings and cars; the soldiers responded by opening fire, killing an unknown number of demonstrators.· One teen-ager was reported killed, and an unknown number injured.· Six letters at the end of 47 and an unknown number of lines below are lost.· On the other hand, an unknown number of heterosexuals do.· An unknown number of vaquita, probably in the hundreds, had already been lost.· The conductor stated that there were 22 passengers inside the car and 33 outside, plus an unknown number of children.· An unknown number of people died or were wounded in clashes with troops.· As many as 200 civilians and an unknown number of military personnel died during heavy fighting between government and rebel forces.
· We found that 20 of the estimates originated from six source studies, with one being of unknown origin.· With the exception of computed tomography most radiological investigations can not identify the primary tumour in metastatic disease of unknown origin.· Gorich etal found the primary site by computed tomography in 58% of 31 patients with metastatic disease of unknown origin.· Since metastases of unknown origins are usually poorly differentiated the sensitivity of testing with these antibodies would also be reduced.· Products of unknown origin I am surprised at just how many products show no manufacturer's address.· Some patients with metastasis of unknown origin do have responsive tumours.
· On Aug. 24 the state prosecutor, Nurullo Khuvaidullayev, had been murdered by unknown persons in Dushanbe.· The kindness of this unknown person was too much for Joan who broke down and wept.· Joan asked Sunday Life to thank the unknown person who had taken the time to care for her son's grave.
· Labour and the Conservatives have pitched high profile candidates into this unknown quantity.· But on the national level they are novices, limited specialists or largely unknown quantities.· Here the X s are the unknown quantities.· But even after redeployment, war will be the status quo in the Holy Land, peace the unknown quantity.· A conceivable problem for the Solo is its price - £39,850 is a lot to pay for an unknown quantity.· As an enemy, he was still very much an unknown quantity to them.· Barnes was an unknown quantity, without any clear prejudice on the nuclear issue.· Swales said he had a lot of flair, but admitted he was an unknown quantity.
· Physically she had a lot more to offer than Kate, but for some unknown reason he really fancied the policewoman.· In the world before Newton, events often seemed to happen for mysterious, unknown reasons.· For some unknown reason it has moved eleven times.· For unknown reasons, a squad of police marched into the black suburb of Brownsville.· In 1919 for some unknown reason he arrived in Darlington and became landlord of the Cleaver Hotel in Skinnergate.· For some unknown reason, this plan did not eventuate in a critical edition.· For some unknown reason, the blinds were always drawn, giving it a depressing atmosphere.· For some unknown reason, racial riots during the Depression were almost nonexistent.
· On the other hand, there is the lay congregation, to whom biblical scholarship is totally unknown territory.· The time had come to get off the fence and begin to walk into what was unknown territory.· And if you venture into unknown territory, how can you avoid getting lost?· With astonishing technical virtuosity, the genetics revolution is pushing out into unknown territory.· He acted as the intellectual cavalry, seeking out new fields, harrying the enemy with his pen and probing unknown territory.· It was a significant archaeological enterprise advancing into unknown territory in the small towns of Roman Britain.· She, on the other hand, was in unknown territory.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
- Unknown to his family, Ron was suffering from a brain infection.
- Barnes was an unknown quantity, without any clear prejudice on the nuclear issue.
- Swales said he had a lot of flair, but admitted he was an unknown quantity.
- These arrangements are an unknown quantity and the administration may not turn out to be up to scratch.
- Whatever it was they were after, it was an unknown quantity, unknown, that is, except for a lethal ferocity.
WORD FAMILYadjectiveknowingknowledgeableknown ≠ unknownnounknowledgethe unknownadverbknowingly ≠ unknowinglyknowledgeablyverbknow
1not known about: The murderer’s identity remains unknown. For some unknown reason, Mark quit his job and moved to Greece. a voyage through unknown territory An unknown number of people were killed.2not famous: an unknown artist3unknown to somebody without someone knowing: Unknown to his wife, Ron had been having an affair.4be an unknown quantity if someone or something is an unknown quantity, you do not know what their abilities are or how they are likely to behaveunknown1 adjective, adverbunknown2 noun
unknownunknown2 noun [countable] EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a movie made with a cast of complete unknowns
- After 30 years in show business, Butler is still an unknown.
- A new version is in the pipeline in which unknowns will be replaced by celebrities.
Longman Language Activatorsomething that people know nothing or very little about
· After they left Kathmandu they would be travelling through unknown territory.· There are still a great many unknown insect species in the world.· Yesterday the village was quite unknown, but today it's on the front page of all the newspapers.
a place or an experience that people have not been in before and that they are therefore often nervous about: · In 1492 Columbus and his group of tiny ships set off into the unknown.· Starting a new relationship with someone is always a journey into the unknown.fear of the unknown: · The fear of the unknown prevents many people from making significant changes in their lives.
relating to places that have not been put on a map yet, or to situations that have not yet been experienced: · Space is filled with unknown stars and uncharted galaxies.uncharted territory: · When Indian politicians established mass democracy in 1947, they knew they were entering uncharted territory.
if something is unidentified , people do not know what it is, what its name is, or who it belongs to - used especially in newspapers or in official reports: · A large unidentified object was spotted floating in the sea near our ship.· Two unidentified gunmen opened fire on the Consulate van.· The body remained unidentified until the police checked dental records.
a little known place or thing is one that not many people know about: · He was born on a little known island off the south coast of Spain.· The kakapo is a little known species of parrot that lives in New Zealand.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a species of fish hitherto unknown in the West He was born in France in 1670 of unknown parentage (=nobody knows who his parents were). murder by person or persons unknown
a species of fish hitherto unknown in the West (=used to say that no one knows where, when, or how something started)· an ancient folk tale of unknown origin
He was born in France in 1670 of unknown parentage (=nobody knows who his parents were). murder by person or persons unknownPHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1someone who is not famous: - a fear of the unknown
- In 1492 Columbus and his group of tiny ships set off into the unknown.
- Starting a new relationship with someone is always a journey into the unknown.
- The astronauts began their journey into the unknown.
- The fear of the unknown prevents many people from making significant changes in their lives.
At that point in her career she was still an unknown.2something that is not known: The long-term effects of the drug are still an unknown.3the unknown a)a place that is not known about or that has not been visited by humans: The astronauts began their journey into the unknown. b)things that you do not know or understand: a fear of the unknown