by surprise
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The extent of what’s happening has caught many by surprise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Kartal acknowledged even she has been taken by surprise by how well she has played so early in her comeback.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
So he may have been caught by surprise when the news of the plan was met in the evangelical world with ambivalence, wariness, and, occasionally, alarm.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026
Guzman was caught by surprise last season when he didn’t prepare for losing Fuentes, so all summer, he vowed to never again to be without a fully ready backup quarterback.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
After sixteen defeats, Colonel Aureliano Buendía left Guajira with two thousand well-armed Indians and the garrison, which was taken by surprise as it slept, abandoned Riohacha.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
