as in inadvertently
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Recent Examples of unwittingly
In her latest Netflix action effort, Theron plays a woman who sets off on a trip to Australia to soothe her grief but unwittingly crosses paths with Egerton’s unnerving hunter, who forces her into a game of cat and mouse.
—
Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2026
The latter post was criticized by Ben Stiller for using footage from his 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder, which follows a group of actors who are unwittingly dropped into a Southeast Asian war zone.
—Brooke Migdon, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
Your data The surveillance capitalism system requires people to unwittingly participate in a manipulative cycle of group- and self-surveillance.
—Anne Toomey McKenna, The Conversation, 21 Apr. 2026
In Creggers’ Resident Evil, Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in a nonstop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026
Coworkers said Cunningham, the ex-Diamondbacks marketing executive hired for his credibility in professional sports, was unwittingly used as a tool to get in the door of pro sports arenas.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Rather than receiving traditional care, however, Hylton was unwittingly plunged into a cold experiment in using remote work to offset hospital staffing shortages, which could be a grim portent in an age of AI automation.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 8 Apr. 2026
That mindset, which teachers would sometimes unwittingly perpetuate, was keeping kids stuck.
—Megan Molteni, STAT, 7 Apr. 2026
While fraud in the hospice industry is a long-running and complex problem, the role of physicians – knowingly or unwittingly facilitating it – has largely gone overlooked.
—Grace Manthey, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2026
The latter post was criticized by Ben Stiller for using footage from his 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder, which follows a group of actors who are unwittingly dropped into a Southeast Asian war zone.
—Brooke Migdon, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
Your data The surveillance capitalism system requires people to unwittingly participate in a manipulative cycle of group- and self-surveillance.
—Anne Toomey McKenna, The Conversation, 21 Apr. 2026
In Creggers’ Resident Evil, Abrams plays Bryan, a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in a nonstop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses around him in chaos.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Apr. 2026
Coworkers said Cunningham, the ex-Diamondbacks marketing executive hired for his credibility in professional sports, was unwittingly used as a tool to get in the door of pro sports arenas.
—Sam Blum, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026
Rather than receiving traditional care, however, Hylton was unwittingly plunged into a cold experiment in using remote work to offset hospital staffing shortages, which could be a grim portent in an age of AI automation.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 8 Apr. 2026
That mindset, which teachers would sometimes unwittingly perpetuate, was keeping kids stuck.
—Megan Molteni, STAT, 7 Apr. 2026
While fraud in the hospice industry is a long-running and complex problem, the role of physicians – knowingly or unwittingly facilitating it – has largely gone overlooked.
—Grace Manthey, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwittingly
Adverb
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Another person died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
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Another man died during the attack after being inadvertently shot by police.—
Jill Lawless,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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While the manhunt for the escapees was still underway, the same jail accidentally released another inmate who remained at large for nearly a month.—
Greg Hilburn,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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Authorities said a family member of the boy told them that another family member accidentally drove over the child in their residence's driveway.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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Davidson, 54, became the subject of numerous documentaries, and in 2019, made headlines for unintentionally swearing at Queen Elizabeth II while receiving an award for his advocacy work.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
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Bubbles Didn’t Enter The Picture That Early In one of the moist unintentionally hilarious moments in the movie, Michael shocks his family by adopting a CGI baby chimpanzee named Bubbles sometime around 1979.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
25 Apr. 2026
Adverb
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At university, Karp focused his research on how people unconsciously transfer aggression through language.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026
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In presenting the Best Actor winners, Adrien Brody perfectly, if perhaps unconsciously, echoed Johnson’s remarks from more than 50 years earlier.—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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Some folks in the band’s organization initially wanted to partner with a big beer company, but fortuitously, somebody countered idea with Dogfish Head.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
26 Apr. 2026
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Sixty years ago, the home opener happened to fortuitously fall during spring break.—
Raymond Daniel Burke,
Baltimore Sun,
23 Mar. 2026
Adverb
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Starting this week, police in Wyandotte, Michigan, are cracking down on kids who ride bicycles and e-bikes carelessly.—
Alysia Burgio,
CBS News,
29 Apr. 2026
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Its international airport — which only recently reopened — has the remains of propeller planes carelessly tossed to the side of the runway, their bodies riddled with bullet holes and their wings askew.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unwittingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwittingly. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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