UNPRECEDENTED


Meaning of UNPRECEDENTED in English

un ‧ pre ‧ ce ‧ dent ‧ ed AC /ʌnˈpresədentəd, ʌnˈpresɪdentəd/ BrE AmE adjective

never having happened before, or never having happened so much:

He took the unprecedented step of stating that the rumours were false.

Crime has increased on an unprecedented scale.

unprecedented in

an event that is unprecedented in recent history

—unprecedentedly adverb

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THESAURUS

■ events/situations

▪ unusual different from what usually happens:

We had snow in May, which is very unusual.

▪ rare not happening very often, or existing only in small numbers:

Violent crimes are rare.

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Hatton gathered many rare plants from all over the world.

▪ exceptional /ɪkˈsepʃ ə nəl/ very unusual and happening very rarely:

90-day visas can be extended only in exceptional circumstances.

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The presence of a jury in a civil trial is now quite exceptional.

▪ out of the ordinary unusual and surprising or special:

It was a small village where nothing out of the ordinary ever seemed to happen.

▪ freak extremely unusual and unexpected - used about an accident, storm etc:

A freak wave wrecked most of the seafront.

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Their car was crushed by a tree in a freak accident.

▪ unprecedented /ʌnˈpresədentəd, ʌnˈpresɪdentəd/ if something is unprecedented, it has never happened before - often used about successes and achievements:

An unprecedented number of students have received top grades.

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This kind of deal is unprecedented.

▪ unheard of if something is unheard of, it has never happened or been done before - used especially when something seems very surprising to people at that time:

In our small town, this kind of crime was almost unheard of.

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unheard-of luxuries such as electric windows and air-conditioning

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.