as in intermittently
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Recent Examples of unpredictably
However, if temperatures fluctuate unpredictably, going below or above the average, all the low-var animals will be unfit and unable to pass on their genes.
—
Shraddha Lall, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2025
Or behaving unpredictably and expecting acceptance.
—Lauren Rothery, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
The mobiles are Rower’s untamable creatures, swinging close to heads, shaking and shimmering unpredictably.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
The pilots demonstrate CyRo’s capability in scenarios, highlighting its advantages, such as assembly on moving platforms where parts arrive unpredictably, handling transparent and reflective components, and adapting to new geometries without reprogramming.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025
Its unusual construction, featuring fewer panels than any ball before or since, meant a lack of ‘drag’, so the ball didn’t decelerate properly, and moved unpredictably late.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
As companies scaled, their cloud bills ballooned—often unpredictably.
—Mark Mahle, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Their medusa, or visible jellyfish stage, appears sporadically and unpredictably — a particular location might have them one year and not the next, even if conditions are similar.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 6 Aug. 2025
With our encryption system, a hacker wouldn’t be able to access or understand the video data because it's scrambled using a quantum key that changes unpredictably.
—Yashas Hariprasad, Space.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Shraddha Lall, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2025
Or behaving unpredictably and expecting acceptance.
—Lauren Rothery, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
The mobiles are Rower’s untamable creatures, swinging close to heads, shaking and shimmering unpredictably.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
The pilots demonstrate CyRo’s capability in scenarios, highlighting its advantages, such as assembly on moving platforms where parts arrive unpredictably, handling transparent and reflective components, and adapting to new geometries without reprogramming.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2025
Its unusual construction, featuring fewer panels than any ball before or since, meant a lack of ‘drag’, so the ball didn’t decelerate properly, and moved unpredictably late.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
As companies scaled, their cloud bills ballooned—often unpredictably.
—Mark Mahle, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Their medusa, or visible jellyfish stage, appears sporadically and unpredictably — a particular location might have them one year and not the next, even if conditions are similar.
—Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 6 Aug. 2025
With our encryption system, a hacker wouldn’t be able to access or understand the video data because it's scrambled using a quantum key that changes unpredictably.
—Yashas Hariprasad, Space.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpredictably
Adverb
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Our boss, who had been whisked off the House floor to a secure location, was only intermittently reachable.—
Zach Fisch,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
-
For drivers, eastbound Lake Street between State and Wabash will be intermittently closed during non-peak hours.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
2 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
The orchestra seemed only fitfully engaged with Dudamel’s direction—a warning sign amid hoopla.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Shamet was fitfully productive when played in meaningful spot minutes during the postseason for New York last year.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Gutters and vents can also unintentionally guide mice inside.—
Katie Cloyd,
Martha Stewart,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Therapists have long seen how the human drive to avoid pain can unintentionally strengthen it.—
Dr. Jesse Finkelstein,
Time,
9 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
That was a privilege to have that much time to process something, almost unconsciously but also consciously.—
Marcus Jones,
IndieWire,
6 Jan. 2026
-
What art aims for consciously or unconsciously—that boundary between mystery and what can be known, between the hidden and what can be seen.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
Though Garfield is attending the RNC reluctantly to give a speech in support of his friend, Congressman James Blaine (Bradley Whitford), for the presidency, his rousing oration inadvertently earns him the nomination.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Historically, local shrimp fishers accidentally caught the small porpoises in gill nets, inadvertently killing them.—
Ryan Green,
Scientific American,
6 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Teachers sent me home assuming that I was hit by a piece of stone accidentally from students playing nearby.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
8 Jan. 2026
-
For example, in 1928, Scottish microbiologist Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin after examining the mold that had accidentally grown in one of his petri dishes.—
Juliana Kim,
NPR,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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The following week – fortuitously a bye week for the Knights – Curtis had his first chemo treatment at the Mayo Clinic.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
15 Nov. 2025
-
But their next drive started fortuitously, when Nix seemingly overthrew a receiver only for the ball to fall into the hands of an awaiting Marvin Mims for a 29-yard gain.—
Rohan Nadkarni,
NBC news,
20 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Bode will play Greta Mills, Ro’s smart, witty and ambitious research partner who unwittingly becomes entangled in the film’s violent conflict.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Well-meaning people who try to control another person’s grief may misunderstand that grief is a singular experience or may be unwittingly trying to assuage their own discomfort.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unpredictably.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpredictably. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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