UNWITTINGLY Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

unwittingly

adverb

as in inadvertently

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of unwittingly In 2002, two years after the events of the first film, three ghost hunters unwittingly awaken the Marionette. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026 The 35-year-old from Kimberly had unwittingly rolled into a mass shooting that would leave three victims dead and at least seven others wounded on the edge of the Snake River Gorge. — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 2 Aug. 2026 The bright light attracts massive swarms of flying insects, chased by birds, which unwittingly get instantly vaporized mid-air by the invisible, high-temperature beams. — Indrabati Lahiri, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026 Other veterans pushed back, citing similar instances of service members’ unwittingly getting offensive tattoos. — Jasper Craven, New Yorker, 24 July 2026 Robert is unwittingly entrapped, and has absconded with something mob bigwig Lombardi wants revenge for. — Leigh Haber, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 Recent reporting suggests Thiel has extended the argument to Pope Leo XIV directly, framing the current pope’s openness to AI regulation as making him—unwittingly—a vehicle for the same dynamic. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 18 July 2026 Over the ensuing centuries, well-meaning conservators applied glue to prevent paint from flaking away, unwittingly speeding the frescoes’ deterioration. — News Desk, Artforum, 29 June 2026 But most canoeists unwittingly pass right over them. — Hank Bradshaw, Outdoor Life, 24 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwittingly

Adverb

Export controls have inadvertently fueled China's ambition to reduce foreign dependencies, including rapidly building advanced chipmaking capabilities.

— John Tamny, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Trump may have inadvertently lent credence to that case this week.

— Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 28 July 2026

Definition of inadvertently

Adverb

The team’s social media department was preparing the stream in advance and accidentally published the link.

— Devon Henderson, New York Times, 22 July 2026
Moss recalled a bass fishing trip last fall when his son accidentally hooked Brooke in the shoulder while fish were busting on the surface in front of them.

— Amber Harding OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of accidentally

Adverb

Organizations can unintentionally create systems employees serve rather than systems supporting employees.

— Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
Left unmanaged, these competing priorities can result in the groups unintentionally sabotaging each other’s efforts.

— Ganna Pogrebna, Harvard Business Review, 31 July 2026

Definition of unintentionally

Adverb

There is also bias at play, which affects decision-making, even unconsciously.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 July 2026
What the team still can’t definitively say is whether sperm whales blow bubbles in their sleep consciously or unconsciously.

— Margherita Bassi, Popular Science, 23 July 2026

Definition of unconsciously

Adverb

And fortuitously, Napalm Death, who played a 19-minute set, espouse the same lefty politics as NPR, in fact maybe even a little more leftist, all things considered, since Barney Greenway wore a Crass T-shirt to the gig.

— Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 15 July 2026
Dean Fleischer Camp directed the film, which was originally meant to stream on Disney+, but fortuitously, things changed and, in 2024, the film was given a theatrical release.

— Angelique Jackson, Variety, 12 June 2026

Definition of fortuitously

Adverb

The Dirties includes a scene where Johnson’s out-of-touch high-school character is in blackface, while the Nirvanna web series has bits that carelessly chase juvenile provocation, including stray uses of racial accents and slurs.

— Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026
Flying an unmanned aircraft system carelessly or recklessly, interfering with a first responder operation, is also a misdemeanor under state law and San Diego municipal code.

— Sydney Brammer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026

Definition of carelessly

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unwitting

unwittingly

unwomanly

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“Unwittingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwittingly. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of unwittingly

adverb

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