undetected

adjective

un·​de·​tect·​ed ˌən-di-ˈtek-təd 

-dē-

: not observed, noticed, or detected

an undetected flaw/error

an undetected illness

These rare mistakes are subtle and may go undetected for months and even years.

—Mario Salvadori

Examples of undetected in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Landing gear compartments, located under an aircraft’s wings and at the front of the plane, have long been used by people attempting to travel undetected on airplanes. —Ali Watkins, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025

Last December, a Kentucky family found out that a baby owl had been living undetected for four days inside a Christmas tree in their home, according to WDKY. —Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 20 Dec. 2024

Upon investigating, researchers determined that the 6.8-mile-long scar likely reflected the trail of a previously undetected tornado that struck the region in mid-November 2022. —Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Dec. 2024

One recent study of 115 farmworkers found that about 7% of them showed signs of a recent, undetected H5N1 infection. —Zeynep Tufekci, The Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1602, in the meaning defined above