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Something unforeseeable could not have been known in advance — not because you were careless, but because nobody could have known. That is the heart of the word: it is about what was possible to predict, not about what someone happened to predict.
Something unforeseeableUnforeseeable的東西 could not have been known in advance是事先不可能知道的 not because you were careless不是因為你粗心 but because nobody could have known而是因為根本沒有人可能知道 That is the heart of the word這是這個字的核心 it is about what was possible to predict講的是「有沒有可能被預測到」 not about what someone happened to predict而不是「某人剛好有沒有預測到」
This makes it a defending word. When a company says 'the delay was caused by unforeseeable circumstances', it is arguing that no reasonable person could have seen this coming, so it is not their fault. You will find it most in contracts, insurance policies, legal writing, news reports, and business apologies. That legal weight is why the word matters: whether an event was foreseeable or unforeseeable can decide who pays.
This makes it a defending word這讓它成為一個用來替自己辯護的字 When a company says 'the delay was caused by unforeseeable circumstances'當一間公司說「the delay was caused by unforeseeable circumstances」 it is arguing that no reasonable person could have seen this coming意思是在主張沒有任何理智的人能預見這件事 so it is not their fault所以不是他們的錯 You will find it most in contracts, insurance policies, legal writing, news reports, and business apologies你最常在合約、保單、法律文書、新聞報導和企業道歉聲明裡看到它 That legal weight is why the word matters正因為有這種法律上的分量，這個字才重要 whether an event was foreseeable or unforeseeable一件事是不是能被預見 can decide who pays可以決定由誰來負責賠償
It is formal. In ordinary talk we say 'nobody could have known' or 'it came out of nowhere'.
It is formal這是正式用字 In ordinary talk we say 'nobody could have known' or 'it came out of nowhere'一般講話會說「nobody could have known」或「it came out of nowhere」
Compare it with its close relative 'unforeseen'. Unforeseen means it simply was not predicted — perhaps it could have been, but nobody did. Unforeseeable is the stronger claim: it was impossible to predict. Someone defending themselves will always prefer 'unforeseeable'.
Compare it with its close relative 'unforeseen'拿它跟意思相近的'unforeseen'比較一下 Unforeseen means it simply was not predictedUnforeseen的意思只是「沒有被預測到」 perhaps it could have been也許本來是可能預測到的 but nobody did只是沒有人真的預測到 Unforeseeable is the stronger claimUnforeseeable是更強的說法 it was impossible to predict這是根本不可能預測到的 Someone defending themselves will always prefer 'unforeseeable'想替自己辯護的人，一定會偏好用'unforeseeable'
組成un- ('not') + fore- ('before, ahead') + see + -able ('able to be'). Piece by piece: 'not able to be seen ahead of time'. The fore- here is the same one in forecast, foretell, and forehead — the part in front.
同家族的字
- foreseethe verb inside it — to see something coming before it happens.
- foreseeablethe positive twin, most often met in the fixed phrase 'for the foreseeable future', meaning 'for as long ahead as we can sensibly plan'.
- forecastsame fore- meaning 'ahead of time' — literally to throw ahead.
- foretell, forewarnthe same fore- again: to tell, or to warn, in advance.
原始詞典資料1 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
unforeseeableadj
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Incapable of being foreseen or anticipated.
- The proposition that socialism can only come about by revolution thus becomes a tautology; Jaurès failed to notice this, and dismissed the question as to what form the revolution would take as a barren speculation relating to the unforeseeable future.
- Traincrew management has always been a bit of a black art, rather than a science. The present traincrew difficulties that beset the UK rail industry are neither new nor were they unforeseeable.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。