Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not knowing; unaware.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not knowing; ignorant: with of before an object. 416

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Without knowing; ignorant.
  • adjective obsolete Unknown, unbeknownst (to someone).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective unaware because of a lack of relevant information or knowledge
  • noun ignorance (especially of orthodox beliefs)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From un- +‎ knowing.

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Examples

  • "Safba," Ishaili gestures in Arabic, unknowing of the English translation for freshwater bream.

    unknown title 2009

  • The 'unknowing' of the mystics has its virtues and its place, but being well-read and knowledgeable makes one powerful and persuasive book.

    The Case for God by Karen Armstrong: Book summary 2010

  • Instead, try 'silence, reverence and awe,' she says; or music, ritual, the steady habit of compassion, and a graceful acceptance of mystery and 'unknowing' ...

    Karen Armstrong and the case for God Gordon McCabe 2009

  • Instead, try 'silence, reverence and awe,' she says; or music, ritual, the steady habit of compassion, and a graceful acceptance of mystery and 'unknowing' ...

    Archive 2009-07-01 Gordon McCabe 2009

  • It's this kind of unknowing that really bothers me.

    It's raining here John 2005

  • It's this kind of unknowing that really bothers me.

    Archive 2005-02-01 John 2005

  • But maybe they’re just unknowing, which is not the same thing.

    Think Progress » Peggy Noonan: 2006

  • The black screen is reserved for a specific kind of unknowing:

    The New Yorker Evan Osnos 2010

  • Instead, try "silence, reverence and awe," she says; or music, ritual, the steady habit of compassion, and a graceful acceptance of mystery and "unknowing".

    Darwiniana 2009

  • Rather than draw upon words to squelch the unknown and to eliminate mystery, we can use them to bring forth more unknowing.

    The Bushman Way of Tracking God PhD Bradford Keeney 2010

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