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without a particular person knowing (Unbeknownst to me, he had rented out the apartment while I was away.  cambridge.org • Unbeknownst to her, in her early twenties, she was at the pinnacle of her career. • And thirdly, women have a different type of intelligence unbeknownst to men, mainly construed as intuitive or emotional knowledge. • Entirely unbeknownst to him, this object he creates also has various other features: for example, it is the only sandwich within three miles. • For listed private firms, it would most likely also be an indication of a principal-agent problem that allowed management to pursue non-profit maximizing goals unbeknownst to the stockowners. • There could be no possibility of dawn raids and take-overs of companies unbeknownst even to the directors. • I am glad that they were doing all those things unbeknownst to us—perhaps even unbeknownst to themselves—and that they did not need our prompting. • Unbeknownst to everyone else, he created a race of demons from the fiery lava of the core to be his army. • Unbeknownst to the women, the police officers had exchanged their hats and the badge numbers that established their identities were confused. • During the commotion that follows, the truck outside is forgotten about and unbeknownst to anyone, one of the cylinders begins to leak. • He, unbeknownst to his employees, speaks many predator languages, including cat, which meant he was not as clueless as they took him to be.); if something happens unbeknownst to you, you do not know about it (especially British - a variant form of unbeknown to • Unbeknownst to her father, she began taking dancing lessons. collinsdictionary.com); without someone's knowledge (If someone plans your birthday party unbeknownst to you — that is, you're completely unaware of it — it will probably be a surprise party. Used as an adjective or adverb, unbeknownst is descended from unbeknown (1848), which combines the prefix un- ("not") with be ("by, about") and know. Sometimes the FBI might be secretly working on a case, unbeknownst to the CIA, which is also secretly working on it. Imagine their frustration when everyone finds out they could have shared information and work, while saving time and manpower. • unbeknownst to me, she made all the arrangements vocabulary.com); occurring or existing without the knowledge of (usually used with `to' vocabulary.com); happening or existing without the knowledge of someone specified (unbeknownst to us rumors were flying merriam-webster.com) |
