Make Your Point > Archived Issues > UNPRECEDENTED

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

"UNPRECEDENTED" Meaning: Just like an "incident" is a thing that happens, and like an "accident" is a thing that randomly happens, a "precedent" is a thing that happens beforehand. To say that one thing precedes another is to say that it happens first. For that reason, precedents often serve as examples or guidelines for future situations that are similar. But something happening for the very first time, with nothing like it ever happening before, is unprecedented. It has no precedent: no previous similar event that would give us some guidelines about how to handle this brand new situation. Pronunciation: un PRESS uh den ted Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like “large” or “late.” They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in “unprecedented disaster.” 2. After a linking verb, as in "That level of disaster is unprecedented.") Other forms: unprecedentedly, unprecedentedness How to use it: Use this to talk about events and phenomena, situations, responses, experiences, courses of action, choices, and so on.  Your meaning could be very positive: unprecedented success, an unprecedented accomplishmeant or feat, unprecedented enthusiasm, an unprecedented show of support. Or negative: unprecedented disaster, an unprecedented failure, this unprecedented fervor of hate speech. You can also say that someone is doing something unprecedented: "What the lawmakers are doing now is unprecedented." "Skipping the annual pageant would have been unprecedented." Lastly, you can talk about unprecedented amounts, degrees, levels, or numbers of things. "The new business received an unprecedented number of inquiries yesterday." Our town is bursting with pride over our spelling bee winner: only in 7th grade, he's won an unprecedented third consecutive championship. Spending time with other children seems to have taken my toddler's vocabulary to unprecedented heights. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "unprecedented" means when you can explain it without saying "novel" or "happening for the very first time." Think of a time your family or your school or workplace was buzzing with a new level of excitement, and fill in the blank: "Our excitement mounted to an unprecedented degree when/as _____." Example: "Our excitement mounted to an unprecedented degree when we found out we would soon be parents." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words: This month, challenge your powers of memory and recall (or just get ready to reign supreme on Wheel of Fortune) as we play with two-word phrases that you’ll find in a dictionary. We’ll start off with easy tasks and advance to harder ones as the month goes on. See the right answer to each question the following day. You might even see a new phrase that inspires your curiosity and makes you look it up. Have fun! (Note: Every dictionary recognizes a different set of two-word phrases. I used the OED to make these game questions.) Yesterday's question: What rushed-sounding two-word phrase is a synonym for “porridge”? Answer: Hasty pudding! Try this last one today: In June 2014, what funny and mildly shocking two-word phrase entered the Oxford English Dictionary? A Point Well Made: Jane Austen: “We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.” 1. One opposite of UNPRECEDENTED is A. DISTRAUGHT B. COMMONPLACE C. INIMITABLE 2. Their violent, crass style of debate is unprecedented ____. A. behind closed doors B. all over the Internet C. in this otherwise civil forum Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. C Exploring the archives: Today's "unprecedented" lets you describe things (good or bad) that are unique: they've never happened before, or they've never happened this intensely. Sometimes, our recent word "unparalleled" is listed as a synonym of "unprecedented." But could you describe how their meanings are different?