unanticipated.

Not expected or taken into account beforehand.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• unanticipated difficulty
• unanticipated effect

On the page

An unanticipated difficulty arose when the apparently compatible records used different calendars.

The study found an unanticipated effect that required independent testing.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Ordinarily non-gradable in the stated categorical sense; compare degree only where the context genuinely permits it. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, interpretation, contrast, characterization. Disciplines: prose writing, literary analysis, advanced general English. Commonness: moderately common.