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
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
Personal income posted a much sharper increase than expected, up 0.9% on the month against expectations for a 0.4% increase.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 28 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for against (all) expectations
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
Personal income posted a much sharper increase than expected, up 0.9% on the month against expectations for a 0.4% increase.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 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 22 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share