surprise

[ser-prahyz, suh-]

verb (used with object)

surprised, surprising 

1. to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness.

   Her beauty surprised me.

2. to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly.

   We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.

3. to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.).

4. to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning.

   to surprise the facts from the witness.

5. to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended.

   to surprise a witness into telling the truth.

noun

1. an act or instance of surprising or being surprised.

2. something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement.

   His announcement was a surprise to all.

3. an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning.

4. a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares.

surprise

/ səˈpraɪz, səˈpraɪzɪdlɪ /

verb

1. to cause to feel amazement or wonder

2. to encounter or discover unexpectedly or suddenly

3. to capture or assault suddenly and without warning

4. to present with something unexpected, such as a gift

5. (foll by into) to provoke (someone) to unintended action by a trick, etc

   to surprise a person into an indiscretion

6. (often foll by from) to elicit by unexpected behaviour or by a trick

   to surprise information from a prisoner

noun

1. the act or an instance of surprising; the act of taking unawares

2. a sudden or unexpected event, gift, etc

3. the feeling or condition of being surprised; astonishment

4. (modifier) causing, characterized by, or relying upon surprise

   a surprise move

5. 1. to come upon suddenly and without warning

   2. to capture unexpectedly or catch unprepared

   3. to astonish; amaze

Other Word Forms

• surprised adjective
• surprisedly adverb
• surpriser noun
• surprisal noun
• supersurprise noun
• unsurprised adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of surprise¹

First recorded in 1425–75; (noun) late Middle English, from Anglo-French surpris(e), Middle French, past participle of surprendre, equivalent to sur- sur- ¹ + pris (masculine), prise (feminine), from Latin prēnsus, -sa, equivalent to prēndere, contracted variant of prehendere “to take” ( prehension ) + -tus, -ta past participle suffix; (verb) late Middle English surprisen, from Anglo-French surpris(e) (past participle), Middle French, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of surprise¹

C15: from Old French, from surprendre to overtake, from _sur- ¹ + prendre from Latin prehendere to grasp; see _prehensile

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take by surprise,

   1. to come upon unawares.

   2. to astonish; amaze.

      The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise.

see take by surprise.

Synonym Study

Surprise, astonish, amaze, astound mean to strike with wonder because of unexpectedness, strangeness, unusualness, etc. To surprise is to take unawares or to affect with wonder: surprised at receiving a telegram. To astonish is to strike with wonder by something unlooked for, startling, or seemingly inexplicable: astonished at someone's behavior. To amaze is to astonish so greatly as to disconcert or bewilder: amazed at such an evidence of stupidity. To astound is to so overwhelm with surprise that one is unable to think or act: astounded by the news.

Example Sentences

The deals have surprised some competitors who have far more modest projections of their computing costs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"I'm still speechless. It came really as a huge surprise," he continued.

Read more on Barron's

The market’s end-of-year run may rely on whether tech earnings can overcome that suddenly long list of October surprises.

Read more on Barron's

It might come as a surprise that Nicholas Sparks—the novelist best known for “The Notebook” and “A Walk to Remember”—is a longtime fan of horror movies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“I feel like I have a natural tendency to poke people at regular intervals with something surprising, a sound they hadn’t expected, like ‘whoosh,’ or an image that they hadn’t ever conjured before.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amaze 
• astound 
• awe 
• bewilder 
• confound 
• confuse 
• dazzle 
• disconcert 
• dismay 
• dumbfound 
• flabbergast 
• overwhelm 
• perplex 
• rattle 
• shock 
• startle 
• stun 
• unsettle 

When To Use

Spelling tips for surprise

The word surprise is hard to spell for two reasons. First, many people forget to include the first r because it is not emphasized. Second, surprise sounds like it might end in -ize, but it actually ends in -ise. How to spell surprise: Surprise! There’s an r in the first syllable (even if it often doesn’t sound like there is). You can remember this by picturing the p being surprised that it’s surrounded by an r on both sides. Next, remember that surprise ends in rise, not prize.