as in sudden
not expected
the failure of the backup generator was unexpected and a contingency for which we weren't prepared
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Recent Examples of unexpected
Overall, Dua Lipa’s eclectic mix of pieces was entirely unexpected for the beach, but Lipa made grabbing a scoop of vanilla ice-cream look good.
—
Christian Allaire, Vogue, 27 Mar. 2025
Evolution and multilevel selection are complex natural processes, so these types of complicated findings are not unexpected.
—Conner Philson, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2025
But a series of unexpected roadblocks now stand in their way.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
While nothing horrible or scandalous went down, each of the various storylines ended with something startling or unexpected.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unexpected
Christian Allaire, Vogue, 27 Mar. 2025
Evolution and multilevel selection are complex natural processes, so these types of complicated findings are not unexpected.
—Conner Philson, The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2025
But a series of unexpected roadblocks now stand in their way.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
While nothing horrible or scandalous went down, each of the various storylines ended with something startling or unexpected.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unexpected
Cite this Entry
“Unexpected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unexpected. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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