unsung means which has not been lauded or appreciated. It carries an Arena rating of 1682, earned across 65 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, unsung ranks #113 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #313 of 42,747 for Qualifying, #1,371 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,155 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
unsung is pronounced /ˌʌnˈsʌŋ/.
Why “unsung” is a great word
Not celebrated or praised, especially for an achievement or service. From the Middle English prefix un- ("not") + the past participle of singen ("to sing"). Unlike "unrecognized," which suggests a lack of formal identification, or "anonymous," which implies a deliberate absence of a name, "unsung" describes a specific deprivation: the absence of public praise for a worthy deed. It is the nurse who works the night shift, the engineer whose elegant solution prevents a bridge from ever making the news, the farmer whose harvest fed the army that won the war—a quiet absence of music where a chorus ought to be, the hollow space where gratitude has not taken form.
Etymology
From un- + sung.
adj
- Which has not been lauded or appreciated.e.g.“The backstage crew of the movie were the unsung heroes.”
- Not sung.e.g.“The third hymn remained unsung.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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