Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

unbeknownst

/ˌʌnbɪˈnoʊnst/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.77 in modern English

Syllables: un-be-knownst
IPA: /ˌʌnbɪˈnoʊnst/

20

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Without the knowledge of.

Example Sentences

"He went home early, unbeknownst to his mother."
"Theon’s redemption scene convincingly threatens to kill him right there on the beaches of Dragonstone, dying for a good cause unbeknownst to anyone but the rapscallions who watched him die, but at last it swerves into something genuinely heroic."

Etymology

Variant of unbeknown with excrescent -st.

Synonyms

unbeknown unknown

Questions

How do you pronounce unbeknownst?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌʌnbɪˈnoʊnst/.
What does unbeknownst mean?: Without the knowledge of.
Where does unbeknownst come from?: Variant of unbeknown with excrescent -st.

How to pronounce unbeknownst

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “unbeknownst”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌʌnbɪˈnoʊnst/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “unbeknownst”.
Repeat and practice — Say “unbeknownst” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.