unforeseeable

adjective

un·​fore·​see·​able ˌən-fȯr-ˈsē-ə-bəl 

: not able to be reasonably anticipated or expected : not foreseeable

an unforeseeable event/problem

unforeseeably

ˌən-fȯr-ˈsē-ə-blē 

adverb

Examples of unforeseeable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With no endgame in sight, the shutdown is expected to roll on for the unforeseeable future. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025

Catastrophic insurance, not tit for tat What all this research suggests is that friendship is less about the exchange of favors and more about being there for each other when unforeseeable disaster strikes. —Athena Aktipis, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025

And while winners may be tempted to choose the annuity for an initial lower tax bite and to get more Powerball money, inflation and unforeseeable tax changes over 29 years could eat away at its value. —George Petras, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

An increasingly complex system generates its own kind of unforeseeable errors. —Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1672, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unforeseeable

• disagreeable
• unenviable
• agreeable
• foreseeable
• friable

Legal Definition

unforeseeable

adjective

un·​fore·​see·​able

ˌən-fōr-ˈsē-ə-bəl

: not capable of being reasonably anticipated or expected : such that a person of ordinary prudence would not expect to occur or exist under the circumstances

an unforeseeable misuse

an unforeseeable injury

unforeseeability

-ˌsē-ə-ˈbi-lə-tē

noun