unforeseen
Britishadjective
Explanation
Something unforeseen is something that could not be predicted and was not expected. It's a surprise. If something was foreseen, you saw it coming and it wasn't a surprise. Something unforeseen is the opposite: no one saw it coming. Accidents are usually unforeseen events: no one expects to get in a car or bike accident on a given day. Winning the lottery, since it's so unlikely, would be an unforeseen event. If something was unanticipated or out of the blue, it was unforeseen. Unforeseen events can be good or bad, but they’re all surprises.
Vocabulary lists containing unforeseen
Power Prefix: un-
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World Without Fish
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: un-
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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.
Unforeseen medical issues can put pressure on a marriage, as this couple discovered.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025
"Unforeseen technical issues" have been causing continuing mobile phone service issues in some rural areas of County Tyrone for almost a month.
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2025
Unforeseen consequences are very likely, because human society is a complex system, and when you push it, you can get a backlash quite easily.
From Salon • Jun. 13, 2023
Unforeseen medical bills alone could create a debt problem for any potential partner who’s not top-tier wealthy.
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2022
The situation is thus clearly explained, so far as it was known to the persons concerned at the moment when the Great Unforeseen flashed from its hiding-place and hurled itself into their midst.
From The White Sister by Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion)
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.
