unsuspecting

adjective

un·​sus·​pect·​ing ˌən-sə-ˈspek-tiŋ 

: unaware of any danger or threat : not suspecting

unsuspecting victims

unsuspectingly adverb

Synonyms of unsuspecting

• naive
• innocent
• inexperienced
• simple
• unwary

Examples of unsuspecting in a Sentence

sidewalk vendors selling bogus gems to unsuspecting tourists

Recent Examples on the Web

Curtis worries the bait used to reel in these apex predators is taking them dangerously close to the beach and unsuspecting swimmers. — Tom Hanson, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

The bulbous growths on the ends of the mycelia burst, releasing even more spores into the air to infect even more unsuspecting ants. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 6 Aug. 2026

Human error led to Anthropic hacks In a blog post published on Thursday, Anthropic said that in three separate incidents in recent months, AI models undergoing testing of their cybercapabilities hacked into three unsuspecting companies. — Huo Jingnan, NPR, 1 Aug. 2026

Its public sequences, shot among unsuspecting bystanders, blur performance and reality. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unsuspecting

• disconnecting
• disinfecting
• interjecting
• intersecting
• recollecting
• reconnecting
• redirecting
• resurrecting
• unreflecting
• affecting
• bisecting
• collecting