The unexpected is something that surprises.
The first step we are going to take before fully entering into the meaning of the term unforeseen is to know its etymological origin. In this case, we have to state that it is a word that derives from Latin, specifically it is the result of the sum of three lexical components of said language:
-The prefix im- , which is synonymous with “no”.
-The element pre , which is equivalent to “before”.
-The adjective visitus , which means “seen.”
Concept of unforeseen
Unforeseen is that which was not foreseen : that is, that could not be seen, detected or known in advance. The unexpected, therefore, surprises .
For example : “I liked the unforeseen ending of the film since it is out of the ordinary” , “This month we had several unforeseen expenses and the truth is that we ran out of money” , “The unforeseen meeting moved the woman, who was not expecting cross paths with his ex-partner at the party.”
sudden, unexpected, abrupt e unpredictable son algunas de las palabras que funcionan como sinónimo del término que ahora nos ocupa. Por el contrario, entre sus antónimos nos encontramos con otras tales como planned, expected, fixed y suspected.
Breaking a tire is an unforeseen event that can affect a motorist.
Everyday life situations
It is common to encounter unforeseen situations or events in everyday life. Suppose that a person traveling by train to his or her workplace finds out, upon arriving at the station, that the service is running with a delay of half an hour due to an accident that occurred hours before. This unforeseen event causes him to end up arriving late for his job, since he had not anticipated this contingency and, therefore, he did not leave his house in advance.
A man who had promised to take his daughter to a park may be forced to cancel the plan when his boss asks him to stay extra time at the office to complete some pending tasks. In order not to have a work problem, the subject complies with the request: in this way, the unforeseen event prevents him from enjoying an outing with his daughter.
A mechanical failure in a car that had not given any prior signs, a power outage due to the sudden explosion of a transformer and a visit to the doctor after suffering a blow to the head due to a slip on the street are other unforeseen situations that can force to modify what was planned.
The idea of the unexpected in literature
In the same way, in culture we come across different types of works that use the word in question or its feminine form in their titles. This would be the case, for example, of the first novel for adult audiences written by the English author JK Rowling , known for her saga starring Harry Potter .
We are referring to the book “An unforeseen vacancy” , which was published in 2012 and which revolves around the situations that, in a small town, arise as a result of the existence of a vacancy in a parish council.
Likewise, there is also the work titled “The Unforeseen Case of the Boy in the Fish Tank,” which was written by Lisa Thompson for a youth audience and which takes as its protagonist a 12-year-old boy who has an obsessive-compulsive disorder.