unheard
Americanadjective
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not heard; not perceived by the ear.
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not given a hearing or audience.
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Archaic. unheard-of.
adjective
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not heard; not perceived by the ear
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not listened to or granted a hearing
his warning went unheard
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archaic unheard-of
Etymology
Origin of unheard
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English unherd. See un- 1, heard ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Leo's comments, although delivered diplomatically, represented an open critique unheard of in a country accused of stifling freedom of expression.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
Setting up the business in 1967 he sought to design and build amplifiers with key "tonal" characteristics that were unheard of at the time, namely distortion.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
This isn’t unheard of: Some universities already have taxable, for-profit arms, whether it’s in real estate development, hospitality or startup incubators.
From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026
It isn’t unheard of for the greenback to run in the green during U.S. interventions abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Somewhere else a bell rings, unheard by me.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
