Meaning & use
not surprisingly
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Meanings
adverb
in a way that is completely expected and easy to understand.
Grammar: Acts as a sentence adverb; it often opens a clause and is followed by a comma: Not surprisingly, they were late.
Patterns
- not surprisingly, clause
- not surprisingly, someone does something
Not surprisingly, the shop was packed the day before the holiday.
She had practiced for months, so not surprisingly she won the race.
Not surprisingly, prices went up when the fuel ran short.
adverb
used to say that a particular result follows naturally from what was just mentioned.
Grammar: Can also sit mid-sentence after the subject or before the verb, set off by commas.
Patterns
- someone, not surprisingly, does something
- something is, not surprisingly, adjective
The team, not surprisingly, celebrated long into the night.
Their first attempt, not surprisingly, ended in failure.
The older students, not surprisingly, found the test easier.
Common combinations
- not surprisingly, the result was
- Not surprisingly, the result was a draw.
- not surprisingly, people complained
- Not surprisingly, people complained about the noise.
- not surprisingly, it turned out that
- Not surprisingly, it turned out that he had forgotten his keys.
- not surprisingly, given the weather
- Not surprisingly, given the weather, the match was canceled.
- not surprisingly, demand increased
- Not surprisingly, demand increased after the price cut.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unsurprisingly
- Means the same and is written as one word; it sounds slightly more formal and is common in news writing.
- as expected
- A neutral phrase with the same idea; it can stand alone as a comment but does not fit as neatly mid-sentence.
- predictably
- Close in meaning, but it often hints that the outcome was boring or annoying as well as expected.
Opposites
Word family
- surprising adjective
- causing surprise; unexpected.
- surprisingly adverb
- in an unexpected way.
- surprise noun
- an unexpected event or the feeling it causes.
- surprise verb
- to make someone feel sudden wonder by doing something unexpected.
Commonly confused: not surprisingly or surprisingly? not surprisingly or not surprising?
not surprisingly vs surprisingly
This is the opposite in meaning: Surprisingly, she refused means her refusal was unexpected, while Not surprisingly, she refused means it was exactly what you would expect.
not surprisingly vs not surprising
The adjective form needs a linking verb and describes a thing: It is not surprising that she refused. The adverb form comments on the whole sentence.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'not surprisingly' correctly.
Choose one answer.
The phrase works as a sentence adverb at the start, followed by a comma. Option 2 puts it in the middle of the verb phrase, where it does not fit, and options 3 and 4 are not grammatical English sentences.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “not surprisingly”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.