(强调出乎意料)结果,到头来(却)
used to emphasize that what happened was not what you expected
We had expected to arrive an hour late, but in the event we were early. 我们本以为会迟到1小时,结果竟然提前到了。
Fears about safety were, in the event, unfounded.
They had been expecting to see security guards, but in the event the gates were unmanned.
Troops were stationed along the border, although in the event they were not needed.
We had allowed two weeks for the journey though in the event we got there with three days to spare.
See also: event