unsurprising

adjective

un·​sur·​pris·​ing ˌən-sər-ˈprī-ziŋ How to pronounce unsurprising (audio)
ˌən-sə-
: not surprising or unexpected

Examples of unsurprising in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Of course, that means that many of the winners were unsurprising—a symptom of a long and ever-growing awards season that anoints favorites months in advance, and is particularly susceptible to a juggernaut like Oppenheimer. David Sims, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024 Sam Sewell, a licensed and certified professional midwife who has served clients across the D.C. region, previously told The Washington Post that the Williamses’ predicament is unsurprising. Ellie Silverman, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 This is unsurprising given the relatively lackluster campaign run by the PML-N. Sarah Khan, Foreign Affairs, 5 Mar. 2024 His morally questionable comments are unsurprising. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024 Many of the names were unsurprising, the subjects of years of rumor. Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 This is unsurprising since social media plays a pivotal role in much of younger generations’ lives. Jasmine Browley, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 Previous observations had shown no water at all—which was unsurprising, given that water would be hard-pressed to survive the intense radiation so close to the star. Shannon Hall, Scientific American, 23 Feb. 2024 The British Academy has unveiled the results of the first round of voting across all 24 categories for the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, with a perhaps unsurprising trio of films at the top. Alex Ritman, Variety, 5 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unsurprising.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unsurprising was in 1671

Dictionary Entries Near unsurprising

Cite this Entry

“Unsurprising.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unsurprising. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on unsurprising

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!