as in sudden
not expected
ran into some unanticipated difficulties with the computer program
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Recent Examples of unanticipated
The unintended—or perhaps unanticipated—consequence of blowing up the model has been the sudden destruction and reconstruction of the college sports bureaucracy, a high-stakes case of building the plane while flying it.
—
Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Those conditions include expenses from unexpected outages, emergencies or new and unanticipated compliance requirements by the end of 2026, according to its agreement with the Department of Energy.
—Calmatters, Oc Register, 12 Aug. 2025
That could result in unanticipated changes spreading fast through a population before researchers would have a chance to stop it, potentially upending the delicate balance of an ecosystem.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 23 July 2025
The complications arising from unanticipated setbacks in feedback processes are well known, both in control engineering and systems engineering.
—Tariq Samad, IEEE Spectrum, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unanticipated
Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Those conditions include expenses from unexpected outages, emergencies or new and unanticipated compliance requirements by the end of 2026, according to its agreement with the Department of Energy.
—Calmatters, Oc Register, 12 Aug. 2025
That could result in unanticipated changes spreading fast through a population before researchers would have a chance to stop it, potentially upending the delicate balance of an ecosystem.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 23 July 2025
The complications arising from unanticipated setbacks in feedback processes are well known, both in control engineering and systems engineering.
—Tariq Samad, IEEE Spectrum, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unanticipated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unanticipated
Adjective
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Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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And then all of a sudden, the pick.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps the most unexpected insights from our conversation were about leadership.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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Whether this unexpected lull means a season that falls (hopefully) short of those predictions remains uncertain.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unanticipated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unanticipated. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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