1
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
those unknowing people who think that the world is a kindly place are in for a rude awakening
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unaware
not informed about or aware of something
the poor woman has been the unknowing target of some pretty vicious gossip
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unknowing
Was this teacher an unknowing servant of the patriarchy, as Kara Cooney would argue, or a naïve propagandist of the oil industry, as Riggs herself comes to believe?
—
Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2022
Obviously, Beth’s unknowing sterilization was a tragic event, a violation of bodily autonomy that nobody should go through.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2021
Their names and emails can then be used by bad actors to target them in various email schemes that can harm unknowing customers.
—Daniel Barber, Fortune, 11 Nov. 2021
Cybercriminals sent phishing emails to millions of users hoping an unknowing individual would open the malicious document.
—Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for unknowing
Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2022
Obviously, Beth’s unknowing sterilization was a tragic event, a violation of bodily autonomy that nobody should go through.
—Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2021
Their names and emails can then be used by bad actors to target them in various email schemes that can harm unknowing customers.
—Daniel Barber, Fortune, 11 Nov. 2021
Cybercriminals sent phishing emails to millions of users hoping an unknowing individual would open the malicious document.
—Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2021
See All Example Sentences for unknowing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unknowing
Adjective
-
Ravi asks, an astoundingly naive question for a show like 9-1-1.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
18 Apr. 2025
-
In the February 1984 issue: Latin America: A media stereotype Over time, Vargas Llosa realized that this kind of reflexive leftism was naive.—
Ilan Stavans,
The Atlantic,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Those who lost their Medicaid health care reported being unaware or confused about how to report work hours.—
Phil Galewitz,
NPR,
15 Apr. 2025
-
He has not been contacted previously with any claims of this nature and was unaware of any discomfort expressed by Ms. Thorne at the time.—
Janelle Ash,
FOXNews.com,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
That innocent people are disappearing into El Salvador’s prisons is no secret—making the embrace of Bukele a disturbing signal of just how far a strongman can go without losing political ground.—
Gisela Salim-Peyer,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2025
-
His innocent questions were always softened by stoner jokes.—
Peter Bart,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But Slingshot’s breach of contract suit alleges that Angel continually broke provisions of their agreement, and sometimes seemed entirely ignorant of them.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
9 Apr. 2025
-
Naturally, this poor woman is ignorant of her friend Susan’s role in her granddaughter’s disappearance.—
Chris Klimek,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The simplest way, Studholme suggests, is to use one group of neutrals or a tone on tone graduation of the same color, such as Pigeon, Blue Gray, Muzzle and Cromarty from Farrow & Ball, for example.—
Ariel Okin,
Vogue,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Asked who’d buy these gold cards during an Oval Office meeting with reporters in February, Trump had a simple answer.—
Meehika Barua,
HubSpot,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
On a recent flight from Seattle to Dallas, Rachel Wagner had the misfortune of sitting next to a passenger who seemed oblivious to the concept of common courtesy.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Authorities, apparently figuring the two were oblivious to the scheme, have shown little interest in questioning them.—
David Segal,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Midfielder Luca De La Torre shot a rocket from distance on an otherwise unsuspecting attack and found the top right corner in the 50th minute, continuing a trend of conceding in the five minutes on either side of halftime.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2025
-
Over a few days, a stalk bursts out of the ant’s head, and eventually pops open to release new spores down to the unsuspecting ants milling around on the ground below.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
12 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unknowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unknowing. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share