surprise
to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.
to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.).
to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning: to surprise the facts from the witness.
to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended: to surprise a witness into telling the truth.
an act or instance of surprising or being surprised.
something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement: His announcement was a surprise to all.
an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning.
a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares.
Idioms about surprise
take by surprise,
to come upon unawares.
to astonish; amaze: The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise.
Origin of surprise
1synonym study For surprise
word story For surprise
The original 15th-century meaning of the English noun was “an unexpected or sudden attack without warning” (a surprise attack, therefore, was a redundancy). In the 19th century, the term surprise party came into use with two disparate senses: the earlier one was “a body of soldiers prepared to make a sudden, stealthy attack,” which held close to the original sense of surprise; the second, slightly later one was “a party or celebration planned for someone as a surprise,” which of course has survived as the meaning familiar to us today.
Other words from surprise
- sur·pris·ed·ly [ser-prahy-zid-lee, -prahyzd-, suh-], /sərˈpraɪ zɪd li, -ˈpraɪzd-, sə-/, adverb
- sur·pris·er, noun
- su·per·sur·prise, noun
- un·sur·prised, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use surprise in a sentence
For his part, Bratton is disappointed but not surprised that the same narrative is already being mapped onto Fry and Spencer.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic | Samantha Allen | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd finally, this is who most of our political press is—gullible enough to be surprised by either of the first two.
Today’s GOP: Still Cool With Racist Pandering? | Michael Tomasky | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTI wouldn't, but I also wouldn't be surprised if Patriots fans didn't properly comprehend the mechanics of sex, either.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits | Emily Shire | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTNone of this would have surprised Kolko, who died earlier this year, or Buchanan, who died in 2013.
He was surprised that the central bank did not understand that.
So much were they surprised at our undauntedness, that they retired about a hundred roods from us.
But I'm framing up my think-works so I won't be surprised at anything I see or hear after to-night.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairBut if people will insist on patting a strange poet, they mustn't be surprised if they get a nasty bite!
I should not be surprised if he returned to business in a day or two, and settled steadily to work for the remainder of his life.
At dinner, Hetton himself was surprised at the amount of attention paid to Georgie by the head of the house.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills
British Dictionary definitions for surprise
/ (səˈpraɪz) /
to cause to feel amazement or wonder
to encounter or discover unexpectedly or suddenly
to capture or assault suddenly and without warning
to present with something unexpected, such as a gift
(foll by into) to provoke (someone) to unintended action by a trick, etc: to surprise a person into an indiscretion
(often foll by from) to elicit by unexpected behaviour or by a trick: to surprise information from a prisoner
the act or an instance of surprising; the act of taking unawares
a sudden or unexpected event, gift, etc
the feeling or condition of being surprised; astonishment
(modifier) causing, characterized by, or relying upon surprise: a surprise move
take by surprise
to come upon suddenly and without warning
to capture unexpectedly or catch unprepared
to astonish; amaze
Origin of surprise
1Derived forms of surprise
- surprisal, noun
- surprised, adjective
- surprisedly (səˈpraɪzɪdlɪ), adverb
- surpriser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with surprise
see take by surprise.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse