surprising
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of surprising
Explanation
Surprising things are completely unexpected—they astonish or startle you. It would be surprising for most of us to get a phone call from the Queen of England. Unless you suspected your friend was planning something, the surprise party she throws for your birthday will be surprising. Things that are surprising take you aback or even confuse you a little bit. The adjective surprising comes from surprise, via the Old French sorprendre, "to overtake or seize." The original meaning of surprise party was a stealth military action.
Vocabulary lists containing surprising
Amazing
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Example 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 most notable and explicit confession, though perhaps the least surprising, came from the Department of Energy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The catalysts behind the declines weren’t surprising new developments, but rather the same threats that have dogged investors for months, only dialed up a little further.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
This take is ungenerous but not surprising, given that one of the timeworn accusations against Holden Caulfield is hypocrisy: This guy calls everyone else phony, but he’s just as phony!
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
"It's very surprising indeed to me that little or no attention was paid to the maternity care in these cases," he says.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
“It’s the only thing we want,” she says with surprising strength.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
