Unforeseen

How to spell unforeseen

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce unforeseen

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unforeseen mean?

1. adjectiveNot anticipated or predicted; happening without warning.

Unforeseen in a sentence

• The project ran over budget because of unforeseen delays at the supplier.

• An unforeseen rise in fuel costs forced the company to revise its prices.

Where does unforeseen come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a native English compound, assembled entirely from Old English parts rather than borrowed from another language. The verb at its heart, 'see', descends from the Old English 'seon', meaning 'to perceive with the eyes', a word with deep Germanic roots. To this was added the prefix 'fore-', from Old English 'fore', meaning 'before' or 'in advance', the same element found in 'forecast', 'foretell' and 'foresee'. The verb 'foresee', meaning to perceive an event before it happens, was already in use in early Middle English. Layering on the negative prefix 'un-', meaning 'not', produced 'unforeseen', describing something that was not predicted or expected; it became common from the 1600s. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the silent stacking of 'fore' plus 'seen' gives three e-sounds clustered together, and writers often drop a letter or muddle the 'ee' from the 'oreseen' stretch.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• fore- (before, in advance)
• seen (past participle of 'see')