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
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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
Deploy metrics and measures to facilitate monitoring of the AI agent's performance against expectations.
—Jim Deloach, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Only 62,000 jobs were added against expectations of 120,000.
—The Editors, National Review, 1 May 2025
Jacques Audiard swept the board at the 50th Césars on Friday evening, winning Best Director and Film for Emilia Pérez against expectations after its award-season campaign was derailed by the uncovering of racist tweets by its star Karla Sofía Gascón.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Feb. 2025
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Lucy Bayly, CNN Money, 3 July 2025
Deploy metrics and measures to facilitate monitoring of the AI agent's performance against expectations.
—Jim Deloach, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Only 62,000 jobs were added against expectations of 120,000.
—The Editors, National Review, 1 May 2025
Jacques Audiard swept the board at the 50th Césars on Friday evening, winning Best Director and Film for Emilia Pérez against expectations after its award-season campaign was derailed by the uncovering of racist tweets by its star Karla Sofía Gascón.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for against (all) expectations
Cite this Entry
“Against (all) expectations.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/against%20%28all%29%20expectations. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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