against (all) expectations

idiom

: although people thought it would be different : although people thought otherwise

Against (all) expectations, the birds survived.

Examples of against (all) expectations in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Agencies have generally failed to measure actual regulatory outcomes against expectations, but new generative and agentic models, as well as more traditional AI data analytics tools, may be able to support such retrospective review. —Susan E. Dudley, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025

But Moody followed up with a Facebook message thanking the composer for his time in working with the class, and, against all expectations, Abels responded by asking for Moody’s reel. —Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 25 July 2025

And the unemployment rate also looks encouraging, falling to 4.1% against expectations of a rise to 4.3% for the first time since October 2021, when the country was still in the throes of pandemic upheaval. —Lucy Bayly, CNN Money, 3 July 2025

Only 62,000 jobs were added against expectations of 120,000. —The Editors, National Review, 1 May 2025