unintended
Britishadjective
Explanation
If you do something without planning or meaning to do it, it's unintended. An unintended consequence of your fun day at the beach is your painful, peeling sunburn. To intend is to plan or aim to do something. When you don't intend to do something but it happens anyway, it's unintended. An unintended side effect of your winning the 50-yard dash might be the extreme envy of your sister, who's very athletic and loves to win. And if you let her trim your hair later, you may just end up with unintended bangs!
Vocabulary lists containing unintended
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.
However, transfers can have unintended consequences, including Medicaid penalties and tax implications, so make sure you seek out legal counsel before you make any sudden moves.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Others are not risk-free: high doses of certain vitamins and minerals can cause toxicity, interfere with medications or produce unintended health effects.
From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2026
He warned that any changes that would “diminish” the commission’s independence “should be approached with caution,” saying that they could have unintended consequences by weakening police oversight and eroding public trust.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 6, 2026
“There have been some unintended consequences,” said Miguel Santana, chief executive of the California Community Foundation, a nonprofit that supported the tax when it was on local ballots in 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
The old walrus in fact managed to instill in me a great and burning ambition; it had simply found expression in an unintended pursuit.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
