UNPREDICTABLY Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

unpredictably

adverb

as in intermittently

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of unpredictably How these two segments smash together so unpredictably and imaginatively makes this yet another new horror film that thinks outside of the box. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2026 Youthful ambition bequeathed them unpredictably shifting time signatures, a daunting nylon-string intro, some odd musical shifts during the guitar-solo section, and a long list of other complexities. — Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026 Cloud spending, which grew unpredictably when the technology was new, can now be forecast using years of historical data. — Ameya Kanitkar, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 This movement from the moon causes Earth’s rotation to slow — but our planet’s rotation also fluctuates unpredictably from year to year. — Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026 Jazz was unpredictably fluid, a group mind thinking in real time. — Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 But patients also need confidence that review standards will not shift unpredictably after sponsors and investigators have designed trials in consultation with the agency. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 14 July 2026 Children played with buscaniguas, small chasing firecrackers that darted unpredictably across the ground. — Literary Hub, 1 July 2026 Although flu seasons can vary in disease severity, the virus mutates so unpredictably that pandemic flu seasons – like those in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009 – are a recurring possibility. — Katrine L. Wallace, The Conversation, 24 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpredictably

Adverb

The company said Riley was hired in 2008 and worked there intermittently for a total of slightly more than four and a half years.

— Christopher Harris, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
In This Article Maintaining a beautiful lawn and garden often means keeping an eye on and managing pesky weeds that crop up intermittently.

— Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of intermittently

Adverb

Martin Filler The Met’s new Tristan und Isolde was a vocal triumph for Lise Davidsen and Michael Spyres, but Yuval Sharon’s staging only fitfully captured the essence of Wagner’s masterpiece.

— The New York Review of Books, The New York Review of Books, 23 May 2026
That’s Duncan’s dilemma from the very beginning of this fitfully hilarious episode of The Audacity.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 19 Apr. 2026

Definition of fitfully

Adverb

Likewise, a professional who identifies strongly with a particular school of thought — in economics, medicine, management, or technology — will tend to unconsciously favor sources that reinforce that framework and discount those that challenge it.

— Big Think, Big Think, 21 Aug. 2026
But in reality, of course, this is just happening almost unconsciously.

— Jinae West, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of unconsciously

Adverb

But in a case of life imitating art, the show’s entire publicity strategy was inadvertently wrecked by a real-life aristocrat, after reports leaked that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was being eyed for a role in the series.

— K.J. Yossman, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
The filing also inadvertently included a note between a Fisher Phillips attorney and the city’s law office with an internal question about the case.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of inadvertently

Adverb

There’s no greater bond than women who accidentally killed their evil boss together.

— Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
Anne Arundel County fire officials said on Monday that the homeowner was working on the home's HVAC system when a propane line was accidentally cut.

— Caroline Foreback, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of accidentally

Adverb

The earnings announcement was fortuitously timed, coming just as reports were surfacing of high-level OpenAI employees joining the company.

— Jordan Novet, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
And fortuitously, Napalm Death, who played a 19-minute set, espouse the same lefty politics as NPR, in fact maybe even a little more leftist, all things considered, since Barney Greenway wore a Crass T-shirt to the gig.

— Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 15 July 2026

Definition of fortuitously

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unpredictable

unpredictably

unprejudiced

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“Unpredictably.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpredictably. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of unpredictably

adverb

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