Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

unknown

1 adjective, adverb
     
un‧known1 W2
1 not known about:
The murderer's identity remains unknown.
For some unknown reason, Mark quit his job and moved to Greece.
a voyage through unknown territory
An unknown number of people were killed.
2 not famous:
an unknown artist
3

unknown to somebody

without someone knowing:
Unknown to his wife, Ron had been having an affair.
4

be an unknown quantity

if someone or something is an unknown quantity, you do not know what their abilities are or how they are likely to behave
WORD FOCUS: famous WORD FOCUS: famous
similar words: well-known, celebrated, renowned, eminent, noted, legendary
famous for doing something bad: notorious, infamous
not famous: little-known, unknown, obscure
a famous person: celebrity, celeb informal, star

➔ See also famous
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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