as in suddenly
without warning
the thunderstorm caught us unawares, and we scrambled to get off the ridge as lightning started to flash
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Recent Examples of unawares
Mbaye, who now lives in Texas, told me about Diop’s passion for seeing the city from a lighthouse, and catching it unawares at dawn.
—
Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2024
An early freeze that catches a tree unawares can do the same or can cause its leaves to turn straight from green to brown before falling off.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2024
However, PetSmart was caught unawares when Symancyk announced his leaving a day before Signet made its announcement.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
The author caught unawares on the steps of Perugia's Cattedrale San Lorenzo, bag by his side.
—Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for unawares
Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2024
An early freeze that catches a tree unawares can do the same or can cause its leaves to turn straight from green to brown before falling off.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 18 Oct. 2024
However, PetSmart was caught unawares when Symancyk announced his leaving a day before Signet made its announcement.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
The author caught unawares on the steps of Perugia's Cattedrale San Lorenzo, bag by his side.
—Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for unawares
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unawares
Adverb
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The fatigue ignored by the excitement of returning suddenly returned.—
Óscar Martínez & Carlos Martínez,
The Dial,
16 Sep. 2025
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In each video, there was a surprising event — like a mouse suddenly jumping out of the corner.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Upwards of ten thousand fans made the trip each year, but despite the match-up’s popularity and history, the Georgia Tech administration unexpectedly announced its intention to end the series when the contract ran out in the late 1970s.—
Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin,
Southern Living,
12 Sep. 2025
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Wholesale inflation prices also fell unexpectedly last month.—
Fred Imbert,
CNBC,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unawares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unawares. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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