Unexpected means coming as a complete surprise. An unexpected visitor, unexpected news, entirely unexpected.
It describes the event rather than the person. Unexpectedly is common as a sentence adverb — unexpectedly, it worked. The unexpected as a noun means whatever you did not plan for: expect the unexpected, which is advice everybody gives and nobody can follow. Note unexpected item in the bagging area, which is probably the most-heard sentence containing the word in modern Britain.
1adjectiveunexpectedComing as a complete surprise.
“We had an unexpected visit from my aunt on Sunday.”
synonyms: surprising, unforeseen
unexpected is a quality of surprise.
From un- + expected.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA