1.
unprecedented and never to be repeated; utterly unparalleled
A four-character idiom (四字熟語) describing something so extraordinary that nothing like it has happened before (空前, never seen before) and nothing like it will happen again (絶後, none after). Usually used with の before a noun.
空前絶後の大ヒットだ。
It's an unprecedented mega-hit.
空前絶後の規模のイベントが開かれた。
An event of unprecedented scale was held.
その記録は空前絶後と言われ、今でも破られていない。
That record is said to be unprecedented and unlikely ever to be matched, and it still has not been broken.
A 四字熟語 meaning that something is the first of its kind and will never be matched. Composed of 空前 (never seen before) and 絶後 (never to occur again). Most often used with の: 空前絶後の.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 空前絶後の大ヒット: an unprecedented huge hit
- 空前絶後の出来事: a once-in-history event
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 前代未聞: unheard-of — stresses never having been heard of before, without the "never again" half