unprecedented

[uhn-pres-i-den-tid]

adjective

1. without previous instance; never before known or experienced; unexampled or unparalleled.

   an unprecedented event.

   Synonyms: novel, exceptional, extraordinary, unique

unprecedented

/ ʌnˈprɛsɪˌdɛntɪd /

adjective

1. having no precedent; unparalleled

Other Word Forms

• unprecedentedly adverb
• unprecedentedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unprecedented¹

First recorded in 1615–25; un- ¹ + precedent + -ed ²

Example Sentences

A woman arrested this week along with four other suspects over the unprecedented jewel heist at the Louvre on Saturday appeared before a magistrate who will decide whether to detain her.

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The Ohtani Rule, as it’s known, is why the Los Angeles Dodgers now face an unprecedented question as they prepare for Saturday’s World Series Game 7.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And their budding romance is not entirely unprecedented in the lexicon of Canadian political history.

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His public disgrace is unprecedented in modern British royal history.

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The move was nearly unprecedented; for years, royal councils had made most of the decisions of government, relegating Louis to being, Mr. Hardman tells us, a king “buried in the crown.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bizarre 
• extraordinary 
• fantastic 
• miraculous 
• new 
• remarkable 
• singular 
• uncommon 
• unheard-of 
• unique 
• unparalleled 
• unrivaled 
• unusual