Link Centre Dictionary

unawares

una·wa·res

UK/ˌʌnəˈwɛə(ɹ)z/ US/ˌʌnʌˈwɛrz/ rare

adverb

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”
Synonyms

Origin

From unaware + -s (adverbial suffix). Attested earlier than unaware.

Phrases

  • at unawares

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.