Adjacent Words

Unawares definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

UNAWA'RES, adv.
1. Suddenly; unexpectedly; without previous preparation. The evil came upon us unawares.
2. Without premeditated design. He killed the man unawares.
At unawares, unexpectedly.
He breaks at unawares upon our walks.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adv
1: without forethought or plan; inadvertently; "came upon the diamond unawares"
2: suddenly and unexpectedly; "rain caught them unawares"; "sorrow comes to all, and to the young it comes with bittered agony because it takes them unawares"- A.Lincoln
3: at a disadvantage; "I was caught short" [syn: short, unawares]

Merriam Webster's

adverb Etymology: un- + aware + -s, adverb suffix, from Middle English, from -s, genitivesingular ending of nouns — more at -s Date: 1530 1. without design, attention, preparation, or premeditation 2. without warning ; suddenly, unexpectedly

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adv. 1 unexpectedly (met them unawares). 2 inadvertently (dropped it unawares). Etymology: earlier unware(s) f. OE unwær(es): see WARE(2)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Unawares Un`a*wares", adv. Without design or preparation; suddenly; without premeditation, unexpectedly. ``Mercies lighting unawares.'' --J. H. Newman. Lest unawares we lose This our high place, our sanctuary, our hill. --Milton. At unaware, or At unawares, unexpectedly; by surprise. He breaks at unawares upon our walks. --Dryden. So we met In this old sleepy town an at unaware. --R. Browning.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If something catches you unawares or takes you unawares, it happens when you are not expecting it. Investors and currency dealers were caught completely unawares by the Bundesbank's action... The suspect was taken unawares, without the chance to dispose of the evidence. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

ad. Unexpectedly, suddenly, abruptly, without warning.

Moby Thesaurus

aback, abruptly, accidentally, bang, by accident, by surprise, dash, guiltlessly, hastily, ignorantly, impetuously, implausibly, improbably, impulsively, inadvertently, innocently, insensibly, like a flash, like a thunderbolt, mistakenly, of a sudden, off base, on short notice, plop, plump, plunk, pop, precipitantly, precipitately, precipitously, sharp, short, slap, smack, startlingly, sudden, suddenly, surprisingly, unanticipatedly, unaware, unconsciously, unexpectedly, unforeseeably, unguiltily, unintentionally, unknowingly, unmindfully, unpredictably, unprepared, unready, unsuspectingly, unwittingly, without notice, without warning, witlessly