unwitting

adjective

un·​wit·​ting ˌən-ˈwi-tiŋ 

1

: not knowing : unaware

kept the truth from their unwitting friends

2

: not intended : inadvertent

an unwitting mistake

unwittingly

ˌən-ˈwi-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• accidental
• inadvertent

Examples of unwitting in a Sentence

He kept the truth from his unwitting friends.

an unwitting victim of fraud

Recent Examples on the Web

While Americans in the U.S. have been indicted for knowingly taking part in the North Korean IT worker scheme by renting out their identities or hosting laptop farms in their homes, in Kim’s experience, the Americans who were involved in the scheme were unwitting. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 2 July 2025

Reporting from human intelligence assets – spies or unwitting informers with firsthand or secondhand knowledge – may provide information on internal Iranian assessments. —Joshua Rovner, The Conversation, 2 July 2025

Dinneen deemed it a work of filth that never should have passed the Chicago Board of Censors and been allowed to contaminate the locals, especially unwitting churchgoers. —Literary Hub, 24 June 2025

That’s right, the FBI warns that bad actors have hijacked over a million of these devices with malware, turning them into unwitting participants in a global cybercrime network. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 12 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for unwitting

• acquitting
• admitting
• befitting
• committing
• emitting
• omitting
• outfitting
• outwitting
• permitting
• refitting
• remitting
• submitting

Kids Definition

unwitting

adjective

un·​wit·​ting ˌən-ˈwit-iŋ 

ˈən-

1

: not intended : inadvertent

an unwitting mistake

2

: not knowing : unaware

unwittingly adverb