Learn English – Word that means “the opposite of what you would expect”

single-word-requests

I'm looking for a word that means the opposite of what one would expect. This word might be used to express the surprise that a teenager's grandmother uses text messaging much more than he does, or that a city seems brighter at night than it does during the day.

I'm not seeking the word ironic or irony which refer to the use of something to describe its opposite experience or emotion.

Best Answer

Counterintuitively, the teenager's grandmother uses text messaging much more than he does.

counterintuitive - contrary to what intuition or common sense [or expectation] would indicate.

Potential differences between counterintuitive and unexpected are...

1: Normally, only "facts" or "conclusions" (not "events") are described as counterintuitive.

2: Normally, counterintuitive implies that you actually expect an "opposite" scenario to be true.

3: Something can be unexpected even if you hadn't previously given any thought to the possibility of it happening. Thus, the doorbell can ring unexpectedly late at night, but probably not counterintuitively.

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