Wiktionary

unwittingly

English

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WOTD – 3 August 2018

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle English on-wytyngly, un-wetandly, unweteynglye, unwetinglie, un-wetinglye, unwetyngly, unwitandly, unwitendely, unwitingly, unwittandly, unwityngli, unwityngly, unwytyngeleche, unwytyngli, equivalent to unwitting +‎ -ly or un- +‎ wittingly.[1][2]

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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unwittingly (comparative more unwittingly, superlative most unwittingly)

  1. In an unwitting manner; inadvertently, obliviously, unintentionally, unknowingly.
    Antonyms: advertently, consciously, deliberately, knowingly, intentionally, purposely
    She realized to her horror that she had unwittingly helped those people she most despised.
    • 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 220, column 2:
      This morning, / Paprs of State he ſent me, to peruſe / As I required: and wot you what I found / There (on my Conſcience put vnwittingly) […]
    • 1666, John Bunyan, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners: […], London: Printed by George Larkin, →OCLC; republished as Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners in a Faithful Account of the Life and Death of John Bunyan: […], London: The Religious Tract Society, […], [1905], →OCLC, paragraphs 218–219, page 123:
      [O]nly now it remained that I inquire whether I have right to enter the city of refuge: so I found, that he must not, who lay in wait to shed blood: It was not the wilful murderer, but he who unwittingly did it, he who did it unawares; not out of spite, or grudge, or malice, he that shed it unwittingly: even he who did not hate his neighbour before. Wherefore, […] I thought verily I was the man that must enter, because I had smitten my neighbour unwittingly, and hated Him not aforetime.
    • 1697, John Hale, “The Preface”, in A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft, […], Boston, Mass.: Printed by B[artholomew] Green, and J[ohn] Allen, for Benjamin Eliot […], published 1702, →OCLC, page 11; reprinted in “Memoir of the Rev. John Hale”, in Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, volume VII (Third Series), Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, 1838, →OCLC, page 264:
      I have had a deep sense of the sad consequences of mistakes, in things capital; and their impossibility of recovering when compleated; and what grief of heart it brings to a tender conscience, to have been unwittingly encouraging of the sufferings of the innocent.
    • 1955 June 27, Gordon H[arry] Scherer (questioner), “Testimony of Mrs. Anita Bell Schneider”, in Investigation of Communist Activities in the Los Angeles, Calif., Area—Part 1: Hearings before the Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-fourth Congress, First Session, June 27 and 28, 1955:  […], Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 1507:
      Of course those ministers who did support this did so unwittingly in most instances, did they not? By unwittingly I mean not knowing that the whole program was controlled and dominated and instigated by the Communist Party.
    • 2017 September 27, David Browne, “Hugh Hefner, ‘Playboy’ Founder, Dead at 91: Legendary Magazine Editor Helped Spark the Sexual Revolution”, in Rolling Stone‎[1], archived from the original on 15 March 2018:
      In the fall of 2016, [Hugh] Hefner was the subject of rumors about his health. As per his wishes, he was to be buried in a crypt next to that of Marilyn Monroe, who'd unwittingly helped launch Playboy into the multi-million-dollar business it became.
    • 2022 July 13, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 961, page 71:
      "She had asked at Paddington for a return to Lympstone on the Exmouth branch, where her son was due to pass out as a Royal Marine that afternoon, at the local training camp.
      "Presumably, the booking clerk had misheard her and sold her a ticket to Leominster, and other helpful staff had unwittingly helped her on her way.
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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ “unwittingly, adv.”, in OED Online  ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  2. ^ “unwitinglī, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
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