Standard Lemma guide

unforeseen

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌʌnfɔːˈsiːn/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˌʌnfɔɹˈsin/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˌɐnfoːˈsiːn/
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˌanfɔːˈsiːn/
  • rhymes with -iːn
  • CMU ARPABET: AH2 N F AO0 R S IY1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not foreseen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • unforeseen catastrophe
  • unforeseen consequences
  • unforeseen failure

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Not expected.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An event, incident, cost, etc. that was not foreseen.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

not anticipated- H.W.Glidden

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unanticipated and disconcerting lines of development
  • unforeseen circumstances
  • a virtue unlooked-for in people so full of energy
  • like a bolt out of the blue

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unanticipated, unlooked-for, out of the blue(p)

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From un- + foreseen.

Across languages

Translations

51 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: непредви́ден (nepredvíden) — not foreseen
  • Catalan: imprevist — not foreseen
  • Czech: nepředvídaný — not foreseen
  • Danish: uforudset — not foreseen
  • Dutch: onvoorzien — not foreseen
  • Finnish: ennennäkemätön — not foreseen
  • French: imprévu — not foreseen
  • German: unvorhergesehen — not foreseen
  • Greek: απρόβλεπτος (apróvleptos) — not foreseen
  • Greek: απρόοπτος (apróoptos) — not foreseen
  • Hungarian: előre nem látott — not foreseen
  • Italian: improvviso — not foreseen
  • Italian: imprevisto — not foreseen
  • Latin: imprōvīsus — not foreseen
  • Malayalam: ആകസ്മികം (ākasmikaṁ) — not foreseen
  • Māori: whakaohorere — not foreseen
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uforutsett — not foreseen
  • Old English: unfōrescēawod — not foreseen
  • Polish: nieprzewidziany — not foreseen
  • Portuguese: imprevisto — not foreseen
  • Russian: непредусмо́тренный (nepredusmótrennyj) — not foreseen
  • Russian: непредви́денный (nepredvídennyj) — not foreseen
  • Spanish: imprevisto — not foreseen
  • Spanish: no antevisto — not foreseen
  • Swedish: oförutsedd — not foreseen
  • Ukrainian: непередба́чений (neperedbáčenyj) — not foreseen
  • Bulgarian: неочакван (neočakvan) — not expected
  • Catalan: imprevist — not expected
  • Catalan: inesperat — not expected
  • Czech: nepředvídaný — not expected
  • Dutch: onverwacht — not expected
  • Finnish: odottamaton — not expected
  • French: inattendu — not expected
  • German: unvorhergesehen — not expected
  • German: unerwartet — not expected
  • Greek: απρόσμενος (aprósmenos) — not expected
  • Greek: απρόοπτος (apróoptos) — not expected
  • Hungarian: váratlan — not expected
  • Italian: improvviso — not expected
  • Italian: inatteso — not expected
  • Italian: inaspettato — not expected
  • Latin: imprōvīsus — not expected
  • Malayalam: അപ്രതീക്ഷിതം (apratīkṣitaṁ) — not expected
  • Māori: matawhawhati — not expected
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uforutsett — not expected
  • Polish: nieprzewidziany — not expected
  • Polish: niespodziewany — not expected
  • Russian: непредви́денный (nepredvídennyj) — not expected
  • Spanish: imprevisto — not expected
  • Swedish: oförutsedd — not expected
  • Swedish: oväntad — not expected