unexpected
Americanadjective
adjective
Synonym Usage
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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Week 5: Scientific Viewpoints
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Strange
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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.
But between then and Tesla turning into the world’s most valuable automaker something unexpected occurred.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
The IMF this week upgraded its world economic outlook, citing unexpected "resilience" in economic growth.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
“Be cautious of unexpected emails, phone calls, or text messages” related to the incident, including claims that the caller is from ETS or the state or a credit monitoring company, officials also warned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
When the researchers recovered the plastic films from the forest soil, they discovered something unexpected.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
How full of the unexpected life repeatedly proved to be!
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
