Unanticipated Meaning

/ˌʌnæˈntɪsəˌpeɪtɪd/
C1

Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Listen pronunciation

adjNot anticipated.

I arrived late because I ran into some unanticipated traffic.
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The sudden storm was completely ____ as the weather forecast had predicted sunshine.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The team faced several ____ problems during the initial phase of the work, which delayed the final completion today.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English anticipated English unanticipated From un- + anticipated.

"Last February, Elon Musk boasted of “feeding USAID into the woodchipper” as President Trump kicked off his second term with an unanticipated assault on the agency." — 2026 February 8, Jeremy Konyndyk, “The Aftermath of Feeding America’s Credibility Into the Woodchipper”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 08 Feb 2026:

Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words

CEFR Practice Quiz
The sudden storm was completely ____ as the weather forecast had predicted sunshine.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The team faced several ____ problems during the initial phase of the work, which delayed the final completion today.

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