unprecedented

Intermediatezipf 3.82

Pronunciation

/ʌnˈprɛsɪdɛntɪd/(un-PRES-ih-den-tid)

Part of speech

adjectiveformal

Chinese

前所未有的；史无前例的

Definition

Never done, known, or experienced before.

Word family

  • precedent/ˈprɛsɪdənt/(n)先例
  • precedented/ˈprɛsɪdɛntɪd/(adj)有先例的

Collocations

  • unprecedented growth
  • unprecedented times
  • unprecedented access
  • unprecedented step

Examples

  1. 1.The pandemic caused unprecedented disruption to global travel. (never before seen)
  2. 2.The company achieved unprecedented revenue growth of 300%. (record-breaking)

Synonyms

  • unparalleled/ʌnˈpærəlɛld/— nothing comparable
  • unheard-of/ˌʌnˈhɜːd ɒv/— so unusual it shocks
  • novel/ˈnɒvəl/— new, original

Etymology

un- (not) + precedent (previous example) — no previous example exists