unexpected mistakes

USAGE SUMMARY

"unexpected mistakes" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when talking about mistakes that were not anticipated or planned for. Example: "Despite all of their preparation and planning, the team encountered unexpected mistakes during the project, causing delays in the timeline."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Money, campaign structure, national party input, and the wild card of unexpected mistakes all matter, even more than usual in a race of such magnitude, and each candidate has advantages and challenges to overcome.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

The floor exercise was the first event for the U.S. in team finals, so that unexpected mistake likely rattled the team and prompted later errors.

Huffington Post

Worse still, the reforms may have created new, unexpected sources of mistakes.

The New York Times - Magazine

We believed that learning would be embedded in the following types of clinic member actions: asking questions beyond the presenting issue, sharing knowledge about a patient or a disease, staff and patient education, learning as things happen in the clinic, and learning from unexpected events or mistakes.

BMC Health Services Research

A1 City Hospitals Faulted New York City hospitals are the state's worst at informing the State Health Department of mistakes and unexpected harm suffered by patients, state officials said.

The New York Times

Hospitals in New York City are the state's worst when it comes to informing the state of mistakes and unexpected harm suffered by patients, state officials said yesterday.

The New York Times

That column eventually grew into a book, "Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong" (Riverhead), which will be published Thursday.

The New York Times

In my life as a wedding guest, I've found that every single nuptial comes with a mishap, some mistake or unexpected complication or drama or comedic accident.

The Guardian - Opinion

Author, 'Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong'.

Huffington Post

By contrast, being resistant to unexpected opportunities is a mistake that may lead to unnecessary regret.

Huffington Post

Her book "Better by Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong," (Riverhead) will be out March 17.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

In post-project reviews, openly analyze "unexpected mistakes" to identify systemic issues and prevent recurrence.

Common error

Don't just acknowledge "unexpected mistakes"; analyze their root causes to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Focus on actionable insights rather than assigning blame.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "unexpected mistakes" functions as a noun phrase, where "unexpected" modifies the noun "mistakes". Ludwig AI confirms that the phrase is correct and usable in written English. It highlights errors that were not anticipated or predicted.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

25%

Formal & Business

25%

Less common in

Reference

0%

Wiki

0%

Academia

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "unexpected mistakes" is a common and grammatically correct way to refer to errors that were not anticipated, as confirmed by Ludwig AI. It functions as a noun phrase and is used across various contexts, particularly in news and media, science, and business, as shown in the Ludwig examples. While interchangeable with phrases like "unforeseen errors" or "unanticipated errors", it's important to analyze and learn from such mistakes to prevent future occurrences. When something happens that was not supposed to, acknowledge it, address it, learn from it.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

unexpected errors

A direct synonym, simply replacing "mistakes" with "errors".

unforeseen errors

Focuses on the lack of anticipation in the errors.

unanticipated errors

Highlights that the errors were not predicted.

unpredicted errors

Highlights the fact that the errors could not be predicted beforehand.

surprising errors

Emphasizes the element of surprise associated with the mistakes.

unplanned errors

Emphasizes the lack of planning in relation to the occurrence of mistakes.

surprise mistakes

Highlights the unexpected nature of the mistakes.

unlooked-for errors

Uses a more formal and literary term, "unlooked-for", to denote the unexpected quality of the errors.

unforeseen blunders

Uses a stronger word, "blunders", to imply significant errors that were not foreseen.

unanticipated slip-ups

Uses the more informal "slip-ups" to refer to the unexpected errors.

FAQs

How can I use "unexpected mistakes" in a sentence?

You can use "unexpected mistakes" to describe errors that were not anticipated, such as, "The project was delayed due to a series of "unexpected mistakes" in the initial planning phase".

What can I say instead of "unexpected mistakes"?

You can use alternatives like "unforeseen errors", "unanticipated errors", or "surprising errors" depending on the context.

Are "unexpected mistakes" the same as "unintentional errors"?

While both refer to errors that were not planned, "unexpected mistakes" emphasizes the lack of anticipation, while "unintentional errors" focuses on the lack of intent. They are closely related but not always interchangeable.

Which is correct, "unexpected mistakes" or "unexpectant mistakes"?

"Unexpected mistakes" is the correct and more common phrase. "Unexpectant mistakes" is grammatically incorrect as "unexpectant" is not typically used in this context.