How to Use unbeknownst in a Sentence

unbeknownst

adjective
  • So, unbeknownst to me at the time, this played out in my usage of them.
    Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, 28 May 2018
  • That phone call was recorded by the FBI, unbeknownst to Koslow.
    Susannah Bryan, sun-sentinel.com, 1 Aug. 2019
  • Hilton returned to the game a short time later and played well, unbeknownst to Simms.
    Dave Clark, The Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2022
  • Young Philip, unbeknownst to him, had been handed a new kind of country to grow up in.
    Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2021
  • Her mom would scramble to do that, unbeknownst to Julie.
    Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 Dec. 2017
  • Dobson says the tracks were given to those artists unbeknownst to her.
    Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 9 June 2021
  • Tragedy awaits this family; unbeknownst to them, the daughter of the house has just drowned.
    Ben Brantley, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2016
  • And, unbeknownst to Bird, there was a man in those bushes watching, a man named Bill Hodges.
    Dana Hunsinger Benbow, The Indianapolis Star, 17 Nov. 2021
  • Johnson has already tried out the creations on her star clients, unbeknownst to them and fans at the time.
    Lindsay Weinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2019
  • Martine, unbeknownst to Bill and his wife, feared dogs the way other people fear the abyss.
    Binnie Kirshenbaum, Esquire, 11 July 2007
  • Turns out that unbeknownst to him, Vince has a kid, who’s 15 and gets dropped off by his mom Priya (show co-creator Mindy Kaling).
    David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 Mar. 2018
  • The neighbor, who had agreed to pay $1,100 for the chairs and table, was watching through a window, unbeknownst to Shavies.
    Thomas Peele, The Mercury News, 1 July 2019
  • But, unbeknownst to him, the Wootens’ neighbors have been murdered.
    Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 12 May 2021
  • Kelly at the same time, unbeknownst to me, had also chosen to be called Oma.
    Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2020
  • But my mom, unbeknownst to her, bought the bulletproof vest.
    Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Jan. 2022
  • But he is still floored by the scene that unfolded that evening, unbeknownst to anyone.
    Joe Sonka, The Courier-Journal, 20 Mar. 2020
  • In both cases, the guns fired lead projectiles, unbeknownst to the actors and crew.
    Maria Puente, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2021
  • And so Prentice, unbeknownst to me, had Yvonne actually talk to me as Yvonne and say words to me.
    E. Alex Jung, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2021
  • But unbeknownst to you, the drug actually cost only $7, and the PBM claws back the extra $3.
    Sydney Lupkin, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2018
  • But some get a little messier over time—unbeknownst to their owner.
    Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartz, 19 Nov. 2019
  • And, unbeknownst to me, my son was filling his diaper, the contents of which leaked all over my shirt.
    Jen Gann, The Cut, 19 Sep. 2017
  • But unbeknownst to the dogs and their owners, the relentless sun had also made the pond a bathtub of toxins.
    Katie Mettler, chicagotribune.com, 20 Aug. 2019
  • In two hours, unbeknownst to her procurers, the new girl was picked up in a general pross bust.
    Gail Sheehy, Daily Intelligencer, 9 Sep. 2017
  • When Scott sold his beloved boat, unbeknownst to him the buyers were drug smugglers, Balfour said.
    Tonya Alanez, Sun-Sentinel.com, 25 Oct. 2017
  • Tainted to the brazen thief who unzipped my purse, stole my wallet, then re-zipped my bag, unbeknownst to the four of us at our table.
    Sainted & Tainted Writers, Twin Cities, 7 Jan. 2017
  • Well, unbeknownst to all of us in the courtroom, Judge Jackson … was also the same judge who swore him … as a U.S. citizen.
    CBS News, 30 May 2017
  • The citizens of Louisville are, unbeknownst to them, much better off because of her work.
    The Courier-Journal, 14 Dec. 2022
  • In the 1950s, a network of civilian sleeper agents ran across Alaska, unbeknownst to the public.
    David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Dec. 2022
  • That night, Elizabeth and her sister Leslie came home and spent time on the lower level of their parent’s home heading upstairs where, unbeknownst to them, Carney was lying in wait with a handgun.
    Taylor Hartz, Hartford Courant, 31 Jan. 2023
  • Calva also posed as a personal assistant during the making of an actual TV commercial, unbeknownst to its star, Brad Pitt.
    Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unbeknownst.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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