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Not expected; coming without warning; sudden. -- Un`ex*pect"ed*ly, adv. -- Un`ex*pect"ed*ness, n.

event that takes place without one's foresight or expectation; an undesigned, sudden, and unexpected event; chance; contingency; often, an undesigned and unforeseen occurrence of an afflictive or unfortunate character; a casualty; a mishap; as, to die by an accident. Of moving accidents by flood and field. Shak. Thou c…

Happening by chance, or unexpectedly; taking place not according to the usual course of things; casual; fortuitous; as, an accidental visit.

In an accidental manner; unexpectedly; by chance; unintentionally; casually; fortuitously; not essentially.

An unexpected subsequent event; something disagreeable happening after an affair is supposed to be at an end. Spenser.

A place in which troops lie hid, to attack an enemy unexpectedly. [R.] Dryden.

A disposition or arrangement of troops for attacking an enemy unexpectedly from a concealed station. Hence: Unseen peril; a device to entrap; a snare. Heaven, whose high walls fear no assault or siege Or ambush from the deep. Milton.

An unexpected, wonderful, or preternatural appearance; a ghost; a specter; a phantom. "The heavenly bands . . . a glorious apparition." Milton. I think it is the weakness of mine eyes That shapes this monstrous apparition. Shak.

ny object, by effort, or in natural course; as, our arrival at this conclusion was wholly unexpected.

; to perform superfluous actions. Shak. -- To burn one's fingers, to get one's self into unexpected trouble, as by interfering the concerns of others, speculation, etc. -- To burn out, to destroy or obliterate by burning. "Must you with hot irons burn out mine eyes" Shak. -- To be burned out, to suffer loss by fire,…

To come upon unexpectedly or by surprise; to find; as, to catch one in the act of stealing.

unconsidered forces; the issue of uncertain conditions; an event not calculated upon; an unexpected occurrence; a happening; accident; fortuity; casualty. It was a chance that happened to us. 1 Sam. vi. 9. The Knave of Diamonds tries his wily arts, And wins (O shameful chance!) the Queen of Hearts. Pope. I spake of mo…

To do something suddenly with an unexpected motion; to catch or attempt to seize. Out of greediness to get both, he chops at the shadow, and loses the substance. L'Estrange.

An unexpected and untoward accident; something inopportune or embarassing; a hitch. In this unhappy contretemps. De Quincey.

The act of coupling or joining; union; conjunction. Wit, you know, is the unexpected copulation of ideas. Johnson.

A sudden stroke; an unexpected device or stratagem; -- a term used in various ways to convey the idea of promptness and force. Coup de grace (ke gr Etym: [F.], the stroke of mercy with which an executioner ends by death the sufferings of the condemned; hence, a decisive, finishing stroke. -- Coup de main (ke m Etym: […

eeding. See under Breeding. -- Cross buttock, a particular throw in wrestling; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse. Smollet. -- Cross country, across the country; not by the road. "The cross- country ride." Cowper. -- Cross fertilization, the fertilization of the female products of one physiological individual by…

left leg across both legs of his opponent, and pulls him forward over his hip; hence, an unexpected defeat or repulse.

n a sentence, or an abrupt change in its construction, a long or significant pause, or an unexpected or epigrammatic turn of sentiment. Dashes are also sometimes used instead of marks or parenthesis. John Wilson.

To come unexpectedly; -- with in or into; as, my old friend dropped in a moment. Steele. Takes care to drop in when he thinks you are just seated. Spectator.