unawares

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As the plane door opened, the couple were caught unawares.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2025

All of those clips are mesmerizing and alluring and haunting, as if we’re actually looking at invisible spirits or fairies captured unawares.

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2024

That the government is always caught unawares shows a depressing underinvestment in the waterworks of its cities and its rural areas.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2023

Because forecasters were caught unawares, so were local residents, who only expected perhaps a Category 2 storm.

From Scientific American • Oct. 25, 2023

Because he wanted to catch people unawares, he didn’t call the luncheons margarine-testing luncheons.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell