1
as in accidental
happening by chance
an unplanned change in our itinerary—we got lost!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
stumbled through a completely unplanned acceptance speech
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unplanned
And in 1929, Lee made her first burlesque appearance — an unplanned performance after years as a vaudeville act — before going on to become the world’s most famous striptease artist.
—
Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
The homicide capped a turbulent year at Burning Man, which also saw reports of an electrocution, an unplanned childbirth and 44 arrests, more than double last year’s total, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2025
States like Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada have experienced supply issues stemming from unplanned maintenance, permanent refinery shutdowns and a significant pipeline outage in the Pacific Northwest, De Haan says.
—Natalie Wu, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
South Africa Takes Control Early Nigeria were dealt an early blow when full-back Ola Aina limped off just seven minutes into the contest, forcing head coach Éric Chelle into an unplanned change.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unplanned
Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2025
The homicide capped a turbulent year at Burning Man, which also saw reports of an electrocution, an unplanned childbirth and 44 arrests, more than double last year’s total, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2025
States like Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada have experienced supply issues stemming from unplanned maintenance, permanent refinery shutdowns and a significant pipeline outage in the Pacific Northwest, De Haan says.
—Natalie Wu, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2025
South Africa Takes Control Early Nigeria were dealt an early blow when full-back Ola Aina limped off just seven minutes into the contest, forcing head coach Éric Chelle into an unplanned change.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unplanned
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unplanned
Adjective
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On sale for $14, this hanging toiletry bag is big enough to hold all of your skincare, haircare, and makeup essentials while protecting your clothes from accidental spills.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Oct. 2025
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The three victims' deaths were ruled accidental, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And then, after that, Edgecombe goes through another impromptu workout with development guru and Sixers assistant Rico Hines.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
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Between Kim Kardashian’s new power pixie and Kris Jenner’s impromptu platinum bleach job, there seems to be a Freaky Friday situation going down at the KarJenners’ this week.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In the kitchen arena, standouts include KitchenAid stand mixers of course, however the Drew Barrymore toaster was an unexpected strong performer in our best toaster test update this year.—
Melissa Knific,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
9 Oct. 2025
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An unexpected winner from this round robin of renos is the W Union Square (from $650), which celebrated the completion of its $100 million renovation spearheaded by the Rockwell Group this September.—
Jake Emen,
Robb Report,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Two months later, the group launched more than two dozen attacks across northeastern Syria, relying on a combination of guerrilla tactics, including small arms fire, ambushes, assassinations, and improvised explosive devices targeting military checkpoints and government vehicles.—
Caroline Rose,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Sep. 2025
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The researchers believe this error was not from its knowledge base but was an improvised guess based on their prior conversation about the square’s diagonal.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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While most of the multiplayer modes are different flavors of the same idea, there’s a perpetually improvisational element that makes Battlefield 6 shine where other shooters falter.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
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Songs were influenced by improvisational and bebop jazz, as well as gospel.—
Jenny Adams,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unplanned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unplanned. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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