Meanings
- colloquialsarcasticsometimesA rhetorical question used to express incredulity: who would have guessed it?; who would have thought that would happen?
From somewhere in their well-fed, timorous, it-can't-happen-here ranks, a Spartacus had arisen—who would have thunk it?
2001, Stephen King, Dreamcatcher, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN; 1st Gallery Books trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Gallery Books, January 2018, →ISBN, page 4624 more examples
He stayed until he saw she had recovered her self possession, then he left, telegraphed to Mr. Hinsdale of Helen's safe arrival—always the same thoughtful fellow—and then went home and wrote sonnets to his lady love. "Who'd have thunk it of 'im?"
1895 September, Frances Cora Perce, “A Sonata of the Woods”, in W. S. B. Mathews, editor, Music. A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Art, Science, Technic and Literature of Music, volume VIII, Chicago, Ill.: The Music Magazine Publishing Company […], →OCLC, pages 478–479"Hello, Muggs!" he cried, vainly trying to bestow a pat upon that unquiet animal. "Say, Trevor, hasn't he grown? He's twice the size he was when you got him!" / "It's a way puppies have." / "You don't say so? Who'd have thunk it![…]"
1906, Ralph Henry Barbour, “In the Rowing-room”, in Captain of the Crew, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton and Company, page 147Think of it, the N.A.R.D. Journal has included in its propaganda work a forcible crusade against long speeches! Wonders never cease; who would have "thunk it"? Is brevity a lost art? With all the ridicule, satire, hissing and rotten eggs showered upon long windedness, it still remains with us.
1916 February 15, “Bodemann’s Aphorisms”, in Romaine Pierson, editor, The Practical Druggist and Pharmaceutical Review of Reviews, volume XXXIV, number 2, New York, N.Y.: Published by Romaine Pierson, […], →OCLC, page 31, column 1Who would have thunk it? Had anyone told me some 10 years ago that I would be alive to see a black person run for President of the United States and be taken seriously, I would have asked what they were tripping on.
1988, Marcia Ann Gillespie, “Something to Celebrate: Thanks to Jesse Jackson, We are Emerging from the Reagan Years with a New Willingness to Pull Together Again”, in Ms., volume 17, New York, N.Y.: Liberty Media for Women, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 22, column 1Synonyms: who would have thought it
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseA rhetorical question used to express incredulity: who would have guessed it?; who would have thought that would happen?
Origin
The word thunk is a humorous, nonstandard past participle of think.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch wie had dat gedacht?
- wie had dat gedacht?who would have guessed it?
French qui l'eût cru
- qui l'eût cruwho would have guessed it?
German wer hätte das gedacht?
- wer hätte das gedacht?who would have guessed it?
Greek ποιος θα το πίστευε
- ποιος θα το πίστευε (poios tha to písteve)who would have guessed it?
Hungarian ki gondolta volna?, ki hitte volna?
- ki gondolta volna?who would have guessed it?
- ki hitte volna?who would have guessed it?
Italian chi l'avrebbe detto?, chi l'avrebbe mai detto?
- chi l'avrebbe detto?who would have guessed it?
- chi l'avrebbe mai detto?who would have guessed it?
Polish kto by pomyślał?
- kto by pomyślał?who would have guessed it?
Portuguese quem diria?
- quem diria?who would have guessed it?
Russian кто бы мог поду́мать?
- кто бы мог поду́мать? (kto by mog podúmatʹ)who would have guessed it?
Spanish ¿quién lo hubiera dicho, quién lo hubiera pensado
- ¿quién lo hubiera dichowho would have guessed it?
- quién lo hubiera pensadowho would have guessed it?
- nos ha jodido mayo con las floreswho would have guessed it?
- quién lo diríawho would have guessed it?
Swedish vem kunde ha anat?
- vem kunde ha anat?who would have guessed it?
Ukrainian хто б міг поду́мати?
- хто б міг поду́мати? (xto b mih podúmaty?)who would have guessed it?
Vietnamese ai dè?
- ai dè?who would have guessed it?
Cite this entry
who would have thunk it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/who%20would%20have%20thunk%20it
“who would have thunk it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/who%20would%20have%20thunk%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “who would have thunk it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/who%20would%20have%20thunk%20it.
Source: who would have thunk it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.