unwitting

Definition

Unaware or uninformed; oblivious.

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.

Example Sentences

• "We've located the perfect site for experimentation on live test subjects. Kadara's "badlands" offer unsupervised access to unwitting test subjects free from any lawful or ethical constraints."
• "(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."
• "Persistent but unwitting excessive speed over a sharply curved turnout forming part of a double junction, which resulted in slight track distortion, was the primary cause of the derailment of an electric m.u. at Bethnal Green on Saturday, June 17 last."