Surprising and Unexpected

Surprising

Surprising adjective - Causing a strong emotional reaction because of unexpectedness.
Usage example: the surprising news that they were going to have a baby had them rushing to buy nursery furniture

Unexpected is a synonym for surprising in amazing topic. In some cases you can use "Unexpected" instead the word "Surprising" as an adjective or an adverb. popular alternative

Nearby Words: surprise, surprisingly, surprised, surprizing

Unexpected

Unexpected adjective - Not expected.
Usage example: the failure of the backup generator was unexpected and a contingency for which we weren't prepared

Surprising is a synonym for unexpected in amazing topic. You can use "Surprising" instead the word "Unexpected" as an adjective or an adverb, if it concerns topics such as sudden. popular alternative

Nearby Words: unexpectedly, unexpectedness

Both words in one sentence

  • Video Game / JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven Unexpected Character: Having all of two fight scenes in the whole manga, where he doesn't even do much, Speedwagon's presence as a playable character is at the very least surprising.
  • Film / Hot Fuzz Stealth Hi/Bye: Skinner has a tendency to pop up in unexpected places, surprising Angel every time.
  • Video Game / Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Unexpected Character: After the Tikis replaced the Kremlings in Returns, it's a little surprising to see the developers again replacing them with the Snowmads.
Cite this Source
Unexpected and Surprising. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/surprising/unexpected
Surprising & Unexpected. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/surprising/unexpected>.
Unexpected or Surprising. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/surprising/unexpected.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "surprising" and "unexpected" have occurred on timeline