as in sudden
not expected
the failure of the backup generator was unexpected and a contingency for which we weren't prepared
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Recent Examples of unexpected
The 1990s were a big time for kitchen sink tabletop RPGs that smashed together genres in unexpected ways.
—
Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
At that moment, all the thrills and all the excitement from an unexpected playoff run were wiped out.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Related article Pope Leo XIV’s unexpected New Orleans Creole background excites city’s large Catholic community
The boy whose deep sense of community and compassion was molded by his experiences in the village of Dolton was made a cardinal later that year.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 15 May 2025
Through Vlad, Enzo discovers an unexpected attraction, intensified by the political reality that Vlad escaped back home.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unexpected
Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
At that moment, all the thrills and all the excitement from an unexpected playoff run were wiped out.
—Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Related article Pope Leo XIV’s unexpected New Orleans Creole background excites city’s large Catholic community
The boy whose deep sense of community and compassion was molded by his experiences in the village of Dolton was made a cardinal later that year.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 15 May 2025
Through Vlad, Enzo discovers an unexpected attraction, intensified by the political reality that Vlad escaped back home.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unexpected
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unexpected
sudden
Adjective
-
His retirement wasn’t sudden, and the scheduling team has slowly been preparing for this transition over the past few years.—
Jayna Bardahl,
New York Times,
13 May 2025
-
The boom in housing demand during these years resulted in a sudden surge in home values and prices in the state, which in turn encouraged an explosion in new construction projects.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unexpected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unexpected. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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