as in suddenly
without warning
the snow started unexpectedly
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Recent Examples of unexpectedly
With Venus and Uranus entering your sign on April 24 and 25, your energy becomes all the more magnetic, playful and unexpectedly attractive.
—
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 2026
The unemployment rate unexpectedly improved.
—Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Ty died unexpectedly three years before Ashley's stepfather Harold Allen passed away.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
Content Planning Improves with Measurable Trends Content planning can be a chore when trends appear unexpectedly and disappear just as quickly, like common aesthetic trends or microtrends.
—William Jones, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2026
Callable bonds don’t behave like standard bonds when rates decline, and their effective maturity can shorten unexpectedly.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Travel delays, work conflicts, or personal obligations can arise unexpectedly, and, without the ability to change or cancel your ticket, even a minor disruption can turn into a costly setback.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2026
On March 31, the 52-year-old activist unexpectedly added some high-octane shine to her chic all-black look with her manicure—and matching footwear—while stepping out at The Testaments premiere in Los Angeles.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 1 Apr. 2026
Thickened with a little potato and flavored with leeks, shallot, white wine, and the faintly anise-y herb tarragon, this sleeper hit of a soup is subtle, springy, and unexpectedly special.
—Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 1 Apr. 2026
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 2026
The unemployment rate unexpectedly improved.
—Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2026
Ty died unexpectedly three years before Ashley's stepfather Harold Allen passed away.
—Peter Van Sant, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
Content Planning Improves with Measurable Trends Content planning can be a chore when trends appear unexpectedly and disappear just as quickly, like common aesthetic trends or microtrends.
—William Jones, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2026
Callable bonds don’t behave like standard bonds when rates decline, and their effective maturity can shorten unexpectedly.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Travel delays, work conflicts, or personal obligations can arise unexpectedly, and, without the ability to change or cancel your ticket, even a minor disruption can turn into a costly setback.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2026
On March 31, the 52-year-old activist unexpectedly added some high-octane shine to her chic all-black look with her manicure—and matching footwear—while stepping out at The Testaments premiere in Los Angeles.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 1 Apr. 2026
Thickened with a little potato and flavored with leeks, shallot, white wine, and the faintly anise-y herb tarragon, this sleeper hit of a soup is subtle, springy, and unexpectedly special.
—Ginger Crichton, Midwest Living, 1 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unexpectedly
suddenly
Adverb
-
When Harold Allen died suddenly in his home in Freetown, Indiana, just a few days before Christmas 2022, Lieutenant Adam Nicholson, an investigator with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, says no one suspected anything out of the ordinary.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
But, a few hours into the dive, screens in the control room suddenly lit up with red, orange, yellow, and purple life forms.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unexpectedly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unexpectedly. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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