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)

1. unaware or uninformed; oblivious
2. 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.

Antonyms

• (unaware or uninformed): aware, cognizant
• (unintentional): deliberate

Derived terms

• unwittingly
• unwittingness

Related terms

• unweeting
• witting

Translations

unaware

• Finnish: tietämätön (fi)
• French: inconscient (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: unwissentlich
• Italian: ignaro (it), inconsapevole (it)

unintentional

• Finnish: tahaton (fi)
• French: involontaire (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: unabsichtlich (de)
• Italian: involontario (it)