unexpected
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See sudden.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unexpected
Explanation
Use the adjective unexpected to describe something that takes you by surprise. An unexpected knock on your front door might make you jump. When you don't anticipate something, and have no clue that it's coming, you can call it unexpected. A successful surprise party is always unexpected, and an unexpected visitor can be exciting or inconvenient, depending on who it is. If you expect an event, you know it's going to occur, but if it's unexpected, it seems to come from nowhere. The Latin root is expectare, "await, look out for, desire, or hope."
Vocabulary lists containing unexpected
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for April 22–April 28, 2023
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One thing Operation Metro Surge has done is bring people together in unexpected ways.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
Instead, the team found an unexpected genetic outlier.
From Science Daily • May 7, 2026
Last month, Expedia hired a new chief financial officer in an unexpected move.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
“She explores every crevice of a piece, looking for clues and finding things in the most unexpected places,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
On that occasion, too, they had heard something unexpected, a mysterious howling sound that came from behind that very same wall.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
