John Burroughs

Whitman will always be a strange and unwonted figure among his country's poets, and among English poets generally: a cropping out again, after so many centuries, of the old bardic prophetic strain.

American Author

Use 'unwonted' to express an element of surprise due to rarity or unexpectedness in a situation or behavior.

Surprise Element

'Unwonted' can be used to denote a negative deviation from someone's typical behavior or situation.

Negative Context

When describing intensity, 'unwonted' suggests a level beyond what is normal, but not necessarily extreme.