Unheard

//ʌnˈhɜː(ɹ)d// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of unhear form-of, participle, past
Adjective
  1. 1
    Not heard. not-comparable

    "Her cries for help remained unheard."

  2. 2
    Not listened to. not-comparable

    "c. 1693?, John Dryden, Amaryllis What pangs I feel, unpitied and unheard!"

  3. 3
    Not known to fame; not illustrious or celebrated; obscure. not-comparable

    "Nor was his name unheard or unadored."

Adjective
  1. 1
    not necessarily inaudible but not heard wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
ableenigmaticinaudibleincalculablemysteriouspuzzling

Example

More examples

"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English unherd, unherde, from Old English unġehīered (“unheard”), equivalent to un- + heard. Cognate with West Frisian ûnheard (“unheard”), Dutch ongehoord (“unheard”), German ungehört (“unheard”).

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Related phrases

unheard-of

More for "unheard"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.