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unexpected

unexpected

392 2.5
Happening without warning
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/
translation icon : inesperado
  • He showed up at the party with an unexpected guest, catching everyone off guard.
  • an unexpected event
  • an unexpected result
  • an unexpected finding

Now that is an unexpected question, so good job.

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Examples

  • Now that is an unexpected question, so good job.

  • And then also things change in unexpected ways as we know.

  • And it was very unexpected when he called me up.

  • Then this happened, which was cool and unexpected, but sort of amazing.

  • Sometimes products do unexpected things, good or bad.

  • And we had an unexpected fall in February.

  • The words were so simple yet so totally unexpected that they caught him off guard.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • It was a very unexpected event.

  • They need to be able to deal with unexpected situations.

  • What an unexpected pleasure.

Synonyms

surprising
vsunexpected
433 1.8

Causing surprise because it is not expected

is the factual absence of prior expectation rather than the emotion caused
startling
vsunexpected
103 5.0

Very surprising in a way that causes sudden shock

is the basic idea of not being predicted without intense shock
unannounced
vsunexpected
43 4.5

Coming without telling anyone first

is the broader idea of surprise not restricted to missing announcement
unforeseen
vsunexpected
37 4.7

Not expected to happen

is the general sense of happening by surprise not about predictability
unplanned
vsunexpected
25 3.5

Happening by chance without getting ready first

is about being not predicted rather than about missing prior planning
unseen
vsunexpected
12 5.1

Not expected before and causing trouble or surprise

is the general case of happening by surprise rather than missing observation
unanticipated
vsunexpected
10 5.8

Happening suddenly without warning

is the general term focusing on surprise rather than prediction emphasis
unforeseeable
vsunexpected
5 6.7

Impossible to know before it happens

is the ordinary sense of surprise not implying absolute inability to predict
unheralded
vsunexpected
1 7.4

Happening suddenly without warning

is the general concept of being a surprise rather than lacking formal notice
unpredicted
vsunexpected
1 5.1

Happening when no one expects it

is the broader notion of sudden surprise rather than forecasting concern
unlooked-for
vsunexpected
1 8.0

Not expected and coming as a surprise

is the standard sense of happening without prior warning or thought
unwonted
vsunexpected
  • Literature
1 9.9

Not usual or expected in a situation

is the everyday notion of not being predicted rather than literary unusualness
unhoped-for
vsunexpected
7.8

An unexpected pleasant event that brings good results

is the general idea of not being predicted without implying positivity
unhoped
vsunexpected
9.9

Very unexpected and better than anyone imagined

is the common sense of not being predicted without the extra wonder
unthought-of
vsunexpected
7.9

No one expects it before it happens

is the ordinary meaning of not being predicted rather than the mental omission

Antonyms

59 4.3

Likely to happen in the near future

1.2

Likely to happen or be true

Compounds

A surprising event in a story that changes the expected outcome

A sudden problem that stops progress and causes delay

How Surprising

astonishing
5 3.4
shocking
278 3.4
surprising
433 1.8
unexpected
392 2.5
unsurprising
8 1.9

Surface Forms

unexpected positive

Morphology

unexpected = expected (transparent) = un + expect + ed

The negation 'un-' is directly applied to the adjective 'expected', yielding the straightforward meaning 'not expected'.

Etymology

Unexpected comes from un- 'not' and expect 'to wait for or look for'. So something unexpected is 'not what you were waiting for' and arrives as a surprise.