unbeknown
un·be·known/ˌʌnbɪˈnoʊn/adjective
unbeknown is spelled U-N-B-E-K-N-O-W-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables (un·be·known). It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 87,317th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, unbeknown means “Not beknown” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in unbeknown?
| Letters | 9: U-N-B-E-K-N-O-W-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: un·be·known |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 87,317th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is unbeknown?
Unbeknown appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 87,317th 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 unbeknown?
- UK /ʌnbɪˈnəʊn/
- US /ˌʌnbɪˈnoʊn/
Unbeknown has 3 syllables, split un·be·known in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-US_unbeknown.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-unbeknown.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with unbeknown?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as unbeknown from its last stressed vowel (/oʊn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of unbeknown
- more unbeknown comparative
- most unbeknown superlative
- unbeknownst
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does unbeknown mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not beknown.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does unbeknown come from?
From un- + beknown.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).