as in suddenly
without warning
the thunderstorm caught us unawares, and we scrambled to get off the ridge as lightning started to flash
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Recent Examples of unawares
Short squeezes can happen when a troubled company bounces back, catching doubters unawares.
—
Evan Clark, Footwear News, 22 July 2025
However, with no standardized dimensions across airlines, travelers have often been caught unawares with incorrectly sized bags when switching between carriers.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 5 July 2025
This was not the first time the Alaska Volcanic Observatory (AVO) had been caught unawares by Veniaminof, even with rigorous monitoring.
—Rosie McCall, Discover Magazine, 16 June 2025
The swiftness with which the market changed their stripes caught us unawares and big gains weren’t taken.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unawares
Evan Clark, Footwear News, 22 July 2025
However, with no standardized dimensions across airlines, travelers have often been caught unawares with incorrectly sized bags when switching between carriers.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 5 July 2025
This was not the first time the Alaska Volcanic Observatory (AVO) had been caught unawares by Veniaminof, even with rigorous monitoring.
—Rosie McCall, Discover Magazine, 16 June 2025
The swiftness with which the market changed their stripes caught us unawares and big gains weren’t taken.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unawares
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unawares
Adverb
-
When Harold Allen died suddenly in his home in Freetown, Indiana, just a few days before Christmas 2022, Lieutenant Adam Nicholson, an investigator with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, says no one suspected anything out of the ordinary.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
But, a few hours into the dive, screens in the control room suddenly lit up with red, orange, yellow, and purple life forms.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
In a modern Danish farming family, the patriarch Gorm unexpectedly chooses to pass the family farm to his youngest daughter, Astrid, causing a deep rift.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Not long afterward, in Iran, Ejection unexpectedly ran into the daughter-in-law of one of those former colleagues.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unawares.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unawares. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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