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The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
Usage Note: Unaware, followed by a prepositional phrase with of (expressed or implied), is the usual adjectival form modifying a noun or pronoun or following a linking verb: Unaware of the difficulty, I went ahead. She plunged into a dangerous situation wholly unaware. He was unaware of my presence. Unawares is the usual adverbial form: The rain caught them unawares (without warning). They came upon it unawares (without design or plan).
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.