Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adverb By surprise; unexpectedly.
- adverb Without forethought or plan.
from The Century Dictionary.
- While the person is unaware; unexpectedly; without previous knowledge or preparation; suddenly.
- Without premeditated design; inadvertently.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adverb Without design or preparation; suddenly; without premeditation, unexpectedly.
- adverb unexpectedly; by surprise.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb
unexpectedly or bysurprise - adverb
inadvertently - adverb
without plan orforethought
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adverb at a disadvantage
- adverb suddenly and unexpectedly
- adverb without forethought or plan; inadvertently
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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Using cameras to observe students unawares is definitely unethical and probably illegal, though we may have to wait for a court to decide that.
What Kids should Know About That School Computer « Steve Wildstrom on Tech 2010
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Using cameras to observe students unawares is definitely unethical and probably illegal, though we may have to wait for a court to decide that.
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When she had made an end of combing it, she plaited my tresses, and my beauty and loveliness charmed her; so she bent over me and kissed my cheek. 334 At that moment he came in unawares, and, seeing the girl kiss my cheek, straightways turned away in anger, vowing eternal-separation and repeating these two couplets,
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Such a record as his, such a look in the eyes, the expression unawares of a life of sustained effort -- always in one direction "--
A Touch of Sun and Other Stories Mary Hallock Foote 1892
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As I sordidly explained last night in terms which may possibly commend themselves to some of the less elevated members of the community who may have crept among you unawares, that is a form of recognition that I value the more because, when Germany passes back from delirium to sanity, they will have to buy another set!
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But what caught her unawares was the horrid thing that by this fact of sudden, unexpected waking she had surprised these other things in the room, beside the very bed, gathered close about him while he slept.
The Man Whom the Trees Loved Algernon Blackwood 1910
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By God, he had pitched upon the right word unawares, and I let him know it in the end!
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None rested quiet or mute for a second, except the one who kept close as his shadow to her father's side, and unwittingly was treated by him less like the other children, than like some stray spirit of another world, caught and held jealously, but without much outward notice, lest haply it might take alarm, and vanish back again unawares.
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I was thinking the other day that certainly and after all (or rather before all) I had loved you all my life unawares, that is, the idea of you.
The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett Browning, Robert, 1812-1889 1898
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By God, he had pitched upon the right word unawares, and I let him know it in the end!
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