Unexpectedly

How to spell unexpectedly

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce unexpectedly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unexpectedly mean?

1. adverbIn a way that was not anticipated or foreseen.

Unexpectedly in a sentence

• The train arrived unexpectedly early, so she had time for coffee.

• Costs rose unexpectedly during the final phase of the project.

Where does unexpectedly come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This adverb is built on the verb 'expect', which English borrowed in the 1500s from the Latin expectare (also spelled exspectare), meaning 'to look out for' or 'to await'. That verb joined the prefix ex-, meaning 'out', to spectare, 'to look at' or 'to watch', the same root that gives us 'spectator', 'inspect', and 'spectacle'. So to 'expect' something was literally to look out for it, and what is 'unexpected' is therefore something nobody was watching for. English added the native negative prefix un-, meaning 'not', and the adverb-forming suffix -ly to produce the modern layered form. The spelling trap lives in those stacked pieces: the silent watch-word 'spect' followed by the past-participle -ed and then -ly, so the careful speller should picture un + expect + ed + ly rather than the way the word is hurried over in speech.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• ex- (out)
• spect (look)
• -ed (past participle)
• -ly (adverb suffix)