unawares
/ˌʌnəˈwɛə(ɹ)z/adverb
unawares is spelled U-N-A-W-A-R-E-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, unawares means “Unexpectedly or by surprise” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unawares?
| Letters | 8: U-N-A-W-A-R-E-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 56,108th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is unawares?
Unawares appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 56,108th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce unawares?
- /ˌʌnəˈwɛə(ɹ)z/
Unawares has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-unawares.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does unawares mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Unexpectedly or by surprise.
Your question catches/takes me unawares, I don't know the answer right now...
- 2
Inadvertently.
I'm afraid I've taken the wrong coat, unawares.
- 3
Without plan or forethought.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Unawares in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense unexpectedly or by surprise:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | au dépourvu, à l'improviste |
| German | unversehens |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does unawares come from?
From unaware + -s (adverbial suffix). Attested earlier than unaware.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).