unheardadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈhəːd/, U.S. /ˌənˈhərd/ 1.
a. Not caught or apprehended by the sense of hearing; not heard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > inaudibility > [adjective] > unheard
unhearda1300
a1300 Cursor Mundi 25182 Or ai vm-quil vr bon es right, Bot vnherd thoru vr aun plight.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) iii. 294 The prayer..may not be vnherde.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) i. 51 He that wyttyngly leuyth oughte of these holy houres vnsayde & vnharde..he synneth deadly.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. ii. 136 But if you be a-feard to heare the worst, Then let the worst vn-heard, fall on your head. View more context for this quotation
1616 W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals II. i. 21 Clamour grew dumb, vnheard was Shepheards song, And silence girt the Woods.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 395 Their childrens cries unheard, that past through fire. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 645 He drew not nigh unheard . View more context for this quotation
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Third 24 To see what we have seen? Hear, till unheard the same old Slobber'd Tale?
1796 F. Burney Camilla V. ix. ii. 66 The energy of Melmond made her approach unheard.
1842 J. Wilson Recreations Christopher North I. 89 Not unheard, although scarcely noticed, was the cry of the curlew.
1894 M. Dyan All in Man's Keeping (1899) 143 Craving..for the sound of the long-unheard familiar tones.
b. Of persons: Not heard in self-defence or entreaty; not listened to.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > ignoring, disregard > [adjective] > by not hearing > not listened to
unheard1595
unlistened1653
1595 S. Daniel First Fowre Bks. Ciuile Warres iii. xxii. sig. N4v Neuer shall this poore breath of mine consent That he..Should here be iudgd vnheard, and vnaraignd.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. xii. 24 This if shee performe, She shall not sue vnheard . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. i. 43 Say that Martius returne mee..vnheard: what then? View more context for this quotation
1655 in F. P. Verney & M. M. Ferney Mem. Verney Family 17th Cent. (1907) I. 538 I will not condemn you unheard.
1718 M. Prior Solomon on Vanity ii, in Poems Several Occasions (new ed.) 458 Un~hear'd the injur'd Orphans now complain.
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IV. Slawkenbergius's Tale 25 Am I to be the sport of fortune and slander—destined to be driven forth unconvicted—unheard—untouched.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel v. xxiii. 147 Unheard he prays;'tis o'er, 'tis o'er! Richard of Musgrave breathes no more.
2.
a. Not before heard of; unknown, new, strange.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > want of knowledge, ignorance > that which is unknown > [adjective]
uncouthc897
neweOE
fremdc950
unknownOE
unseena1200
unketha1275
unkedc1275
strange13..
disguisyc1330
unknowedc1380
aliena1382
unhearda1382
unkenneda1400
ranishc1400
ignorant?a1475
unwittenc1485
unbekend1513
unacquainted1551
unkent1579
unwitted1582
unfamiliar1593
unsounded1594
incognite1609
ignote1623
in the urn1658
unfathomed1659
unexperienced1698
unknown-of1700
undiscovered1707
inaudite1708
darka1727
unascertained1751
unwist1757
unknownst1805
unbeknown1824
unbeknownst1848
unsampled1890
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > [adjective] > new, novel, or not previously known
newOE
fresha1382
unhearda1382
new-founda1425
raw1448
newfanglec1450
newfangled?1531
new-fashioned1574
novile1586
modern1590
newelty1590
unheard1592
novellous1601
new-discovered1609
novelizing1625
nouvelle1650
new-type1887
edgy1976
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > of an exceptional degree
unhearda1382
unheard1592
uncomparable1826
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Esther xvi. 13 For Mardoche..with newe maner and vnherd engynes ful out askide [Haman] in to deth.
1459 Rolls of Parl. V. 346/1 His fals and traiterous ymaginations,..compassed by the most unherd meanes.
c1480 (a1400) St. Katherine 845 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 466 With wnhard pane sa felloun[l]y scho sall be slaane.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Macc. iv. 13 The Heithenish & straunge conuersacion, brought in thorow the vngracious and vnherde wickednesse of Iason.
1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. D2v A hudge woonder, of the vnhard secretes neuer before reported of.
1658 A. Cokayne Trappolin iv. ii, in Small Poems 494 Some unheard malady Unknown unto the world before.
1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 7 Notwithstanding all these strange, and unheard Inconveniences, yet they will not quit their Station.
1746 P. Francis tr. Horace Art of Poetry 68 A new-discover'd Theme.., unheard in ancient Times.
1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab vii. 93 Humbly he came,..his name unheard, Save by the rabble of his native town.
b. More usually with of. (Common from c1600.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > [adjective] > new, novel, or not previously known
newOE
fresha1382
unhearda1382
new-founda1425
raw1448
newfanglec1450
newfangled?1531
new-fashioned1574
novile1586
modern1590
newelty1590
unheard1592
novellous1601
new-discovered1609
novelizing1625
nouvelle1650
new-type1887
edgy1976
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > of an exceptional degree
unhearda1382
unheard1592
uncomparable1826
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely > unheard of
unheard1592
1592 Greenes Groats-worth of Witte To Gentl. Acquaint. sig. E4v If wofull experience may moue you (Gentlemen) to beware, or vnheard of wretchednes intreate you to take heed.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 145 Inflicting vnheard-of tortures on the patient Christians.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 170 The Phrase was then so new and unheard of, that it puzzled a whole City.
1752 in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 308 An Arminian who governed with unheard of Despotism.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 20 This new, and hitherto unheard-of bill of rights. View more context for this quotation
1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxvii. 622 She tended him through a series of unheard-of illnesses.
1891 F. W. Farrar Darkness & Dawn I. xv. 125 From the first he broke out into unheard-of extravagance.
Derivatives
unheard-of-ness n.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1924; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.a1300