Standard Lemma guide

unhoped-for

adj · 2 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

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Not expected or imagined.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

so unexpected as to have not been imagined

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an unhoped-for piece of luck
  • an unthought advantage
  • an unthought-of place to find the key

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unhoped, unthought, unthought-of

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English hoped for English unhoped-for From un- + hoped for.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: ненадеен (nenadeen) — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Dutch: onverhoopt — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Finnish: toivomaton — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • French: inespéré — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • German: unverhofft — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Hungarian: nem remélt — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Hungarian: nem várt — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Hungarian: váratlan — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Italian: insperato — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Polish: niespodziewany — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Polish: nieoczekiwany — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Russian: неожи́данный (neožídannyj) — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Spanish: inesperado — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected
  • Ukrainian: несподі́ваний (nespodívanyj) — not expected or imagined — see also unexpected