as in inadvertently
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Recent Examples of unwittingly
Bode will play Greta Mills, Ro’s smart, witty and ambitious research partner who unwittingly becomes entangled in the film’s violent conflict.
—
Andrew McGowan, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Well-meaning people who try to control another person’s grief may misunderstand that grief is a singular experience or may be unwittingly trying to assuage their own discomfort.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
In other cases, China’s overseas investments have unwittingly amplified doubts about its reliability and transparency.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
When his earnest letter to Santa ultimately gets destroyed by his cousins, Max unwittingly invites Krampus to host the last Christmas celebration the Engel-Jacksons will ever need.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Dec. 2025
Women may unwittingly be living through a turning point in their labor history.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025
Things in the law professor’s academic life aren’t going great, either; Tom unwittingly gave legal advice to an un-woke basketball-team owner and is convinced his university will find out.
—Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
The Night Agent upped the ante in its second outing, with Peter getting enmeshed in a chemical weapons threat and unwittingly swaying a presidential election that sends his moral compass spinning.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Dec. 2025
But the imports unwittingly ushered in a pandemic.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025
Andrew McGowan, Variety, 7 Jan. 2026
Well-meaning people who try to control another person’s grief may misunderstand that grief is a singular experience or may be unwittingly trying to assuage their own discomfort.
—Charles Trepany, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
In other cases, China’s overseas investments have unwittingly amplified doubts about its reliability and transparency.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
When his earnest letter to Santa ultimately gets destroyed by his cousins, Max unwittingly invites Krampus to host the last Christmas celebration the Engel-Jacksons will ever need.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 12 Dec. 2025
Women may unwittingly be living through a turning point in their labor history.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025
Things in the law professor’s academic life aren’t going great, either; Tom unwittingly gave legal advice to an un-woke basketball-team owner and is convinced his university will find out.
—Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Dec. 2025
The Night Agent upped the ante in its second outing, with Peter getting enmeshed in a chemical weapons threat and unwittingly swaying a presidential election that sends his moral compass spinning.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Dec. 2025
But the imports unwittingly ushered in a pandemic.
—Evan Bush, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwittingly
Adverb
-
If a popular crypto investor with a sizable following predicts that the value of a coin is about to plummet, that can lead to many people selling off their shares in that coin, and inadvertently causing the very decline which was predicted.—
Malana VanTyler,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Jan. 2026
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Dellandrea was injured in the Sharks’ game on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets as his right leg struck the post after he was inadvertently tripped while driving to the net.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
10 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Teachers sent me home assuming that I was hit by a piece of stone accidentally from students playing nearby.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
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For example, in 1928, Scottish microbiologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin after examining the mold that had accidentally grown in one of his petri dishes.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Gutters and vents can also unintentionally guide mice inside.—
Katie Cloyd,
Martha Stewart,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Therapists have long seen how the human drive to avoid pain can unintentionally strengthen it.—
Dr. Jesse Finkelstein,
Time,
9 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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That was a privilege to have that much time to process something, almost unconsciously but also consciously.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
6 Jan. 2026
-
What art aims for consciously or unconsciously—that boundary between mystery and what can be known, between the hidden and what can be seen.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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The following week – fortuitously a bye week for the Knights – Curtis had his first chemo treatment at the Mayo Clinic.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
15 Nov. 2025
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But their next drive started fortuitously, when Nix seemingly overthrew a receiver only for the ball to fall into the hands of an awaiting Marvin Mims for a 29-yard gain.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
20 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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As flawed generative AI tools continue to be used carelessly, without the necessary follow-up work of checking for hallucinations, experts warn that agencies like NWS could inflict serious damage to their reputation and authority.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
7 Jan. 2026
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Florida has a prohibition on carelessly carrying a gun.—
Romy Ellenbogen,
Miami Herald,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unwittingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwittingly. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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