failed surprisingly

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "failed surprisingly" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a situation where something did not succeed in a way that was unexpected or contrary to assumptions. Example: "The project was well-planned and had all the necessary resources, yet it failed surprisingly, leaving the team puzzled."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

The attempt to synthesize pure Sn nanoparticles through the same route failed surprisingly.

Nanoscale Research Letters

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

Our brains try desperately to keep abreast of them, but chronically fail – not surprisingly, since the number of items we can hold in working memory, it's been argued, may be somewhere around seven.

The Guardian - Opinion

The Philadelphia Eagles have also surprisingly failed to book their place in a match-up next week.

Independent

Kieron Dyer, whose inclusion in the squad was a shock, rather less surprisingly failed to make the bench.

The Guardian - Sport

However, the Oscar voters surprisingly failed to give Fiennes a third nomination to add to Schindler's List and The English Patient.

The Guardian

The mafia drama was yesterday shot down at the Oscars when it surprisingly failed to make the shortlist for the best foreign-language film award.

The Guardian - Film

For more than four decades, Parliament members have been trying to create a Lokpal, and they have, not surprisingly, failed, because it would be suicidal for them to succeed.

The New York Times

Bigelow surprisingly failed to receive a nod for best director when the Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday, and Zero Dark Thirty will compete only for best film, best original screenwriting, best actress (Jessica Chastain) and two editing prizes.

The Guardian - Film

Brazilian police said they wanted to question the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, about a ticket-touting case on Thursday, a day after he surprisingly failed to show up for the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The Guardian - Sport

The Dutch's stuttering performance against a New Zealand six places below them in the world rankings, reflected their sentiment in the tournament as a whole and one of the few consolation for ebullient coach Max Caldas was that his captain, Maartje Paumen, finally found her goalscoring touch having surprisingly failed to net once in the tournament.

Independent

It was smaller still as she willed herself to the finish with Sara Isakovic of Slovenia closing hard in the adjacent Lane 4 and Pang Jiaying of China doing the same in Lane 6. Pellegrini surprisingly failed to win a medal in the 400 freestyle, in which she also holds the world record.

The New York Times - Sports

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "failed surprisingly" to highlight an outcome that defied logical predictions or prior expectations.

Common error

Avoid using "failed surprisingly" when the failure is easily foreseeable given the circumstances. Overusing it can diminish its impact.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "failed surprisingly" functions as an intensifier, modifying the verb 'failed' to emphasize the unexpected nature of the failure. Ludwig AI confirms the phrase is correct and usable in English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

27%

News & Media

69%

Encyclopedias

3%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "failed surprisingly" is used to describe situations where an outcome was unexpectedly unsuccessful. As Ludwig AI confirms, it's grammatically sound and appropriate for use in varied writing contexts. While relatively rare, it appears across scientific and news publications to express an unexpected lack of success. When writing, use the phrase to highlight outcomes that defy expectations, but avoid overusing it in predictable situations to maintain its impact.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

failed unexpectedly

Reorders the words while retaining core meaning.

remarkably failed

Emphasizes how notable the failure was.

surprisingly unsuccessful

Replaces "failed" with a synonym, retaining the adverb.

astonishing failure

Uses a stronger adjective to emphasize the unexpectedness.

unexpected failure

Nouns replace the verb and adverb, focusing on the event rather than the process.

failed in an unexpected manner

Adds more words to express unexpectedness.

did not succeed as expected

Changes the wording to focus on the lack of expected success.

contrary to expectations, it failed

Similar to above, focusing on contradicting expectations.

against all expectations, it failed

Adds an introductory phrase to highlight the unexpected nature.

it was surprising that it failed

Rephrases to emphasize the surprise element.

FAQs

How can I use "failed surprisingly" in a sentence?

You can use "failed surprisingly" to describe an unexpected lack of success, such as, "The well-funded project "failed surprisingly" despite expert planning."

What are some alternatives to "failed surprisingly"?

Alternatives include "failed unexpectedly", "surprisingly unsuccessful", or "remarkably failed", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is it better to say "unexpected failure" or "failed surprisingly"?

Both are correct, but "unexpected failure" (a noun phrase) emphasizes the event, while ""failed surprisingly"" (adverb + verb) emphasizes the action and its unexpected nature.

What's the difference between "failed surprisingly" and "failed unexpectedly"?

The terms are very similar, but ""failed surprisingly"" might imply a higher degree of astonishment or disbelief than "failed unexpectedly".