unforeseen

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˌʌnfɔˈrsiːn/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Not anticipated or expected; not foreseen; unexpected; happening without prior warning or prediction.; Not provided for or planned in advance; arising spontaneously without prior arrangement.; Not discernible or perceivable beforehand; impossible to predict given the available information at the time.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Collocations

unforeseen circumstancesunforeseen consequencesunforeseen eventsunforeseen problemsunforeseen difficultiesunforeseen developments

Derivatives

foreseeforeseenforeseeableunforeseeableforesight

Synonyms

unexpectedunanticipatedunpredictedunlooked-forsurprise

Antonyms

foreseenexpectedanticipatedpredicted

Commonly confused

unforeseeable
EN: 'Unforeseeable' means impossible to predict in principle; 'unforeseen' simply means it was not actually predicted, regardless of whether it could have been.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the 'e' in 'fore': it is 'unforeseen', not 'unforseen'. The root is 'foresee' (fore + see).

💬 Examples

  1. The project was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.

  2. We had to set aside a portion of the budget for unforeseen expenses.

  3. The scientist acknowledged that the side effects were unforeseen at the time of the initial trials.