surprise
Americanverb (used with object)
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surprises,
present (3rd person singular)
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surprised,
past participle, past
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surprising
present participle
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to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness.
Her beauty surprised me.
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to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly.
We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.
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to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.).
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to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning.
to surprise the facts from the witness.
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to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended.
to surprise a witness into telling the truth.
noun
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surprises
plural
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an act or instance of surprising or being surprised.
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something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement.
His announcement was a surprise to all.
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an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning.
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a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares.
idioms
verb
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to cause to feel amazement or wonder
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to encounter or discover unexpectedly or suddenly
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to capture or assault suddenly and without warning
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to present with something unexpected, such as a gift
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(foll by into) to provoke (someone) to unintended action by a trick, etc
to surprise a person into an indiscretion
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(often foll by from) to elicit by unexpected behaviour or by a trick
to surprise information from a prisoner
noun
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the act or an instance of surprising; the act of taking unawares
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a sudden or unexpected event, gift, etc
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the feeling or condition of being surprised; astonishment
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(modifier) causing, characterized by, or relying upon surprise
a surprise move
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to come upon suddenly and without warning
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to capture unexpectedly or catch unprepared
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to astonish; amaze
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Usage
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.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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supersurprisenoun
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surprisalnoun
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surprisernoun
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surprisedadjective
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unsurprisedadjective
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surprisedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surprisesimple
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surprisessimple
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have surprisedperfect
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has surprisedperfect
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am surprisingprogressive
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are surprisingprogressive
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is surprisingprogressive
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have been surprisingperfect progressive
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has been surprisingperfect progressive
Past
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surprisedsimple
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had surprisedperfect
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was surprisingprogressive
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were surprisingprogressive
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had been surprisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surprise
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” ( see prehension) + -tus, -ta past participle suffix; (verb) late Middle English surprisen, from Anglo-French surpris(e) (past participle), Middle French, as above
Explanation
A surprise can be an unexpected or astonishing event, such as an ambush or a really great grade on a test you didn't study for. Surprise can be a verb meaning to astonish or startle someone, a noun for the unexpected thing, or for the feeling produced by that surprise. It comes from the Latin word for "seize," and originally meant an unexpected military attack. When the novelist Charles Lever wrote in 1841 of "three cavalry regiments, their noiseless gestures and perfect stillness bespeaking at once that they were intended for a surprise party," he meant a surprise attack, not a birthday party.
Vocabulary lists containing surprise
Emotions on Display
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 6
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"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, Chapters 1–3
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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.
See Examples For:
Yields have kept climbing despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s surprise announcement in August of a series of increased buybacks of long-dated Treasurys through early November, which was aimed at calming the market.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
They know how to surprise, and they use their trio of actors to do it cleverly.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Holmes herself shied from the public eye, making the surprise release of the documentary "You Can See Everything" all the more astonishing when it debuted to high praise at the Telluride Film Festival in September.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
"She was taken by surprise but very happy. I could hear that in her voice."
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Which shouldn’t have been a huge surprise, but it was still a bummer to sit down to my first breakfast at the mountain to his scowling face.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
And what a delight it is that this world still holds some surprises for us.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
“At these levels, we think the risks of upside surprises far outweigh those on the downside,” Jonas said of the stock.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
The selection includes the required celebrated high points, plus ample surprises and rarely seen inclusions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Last week, US pop star Olivia Rodrigo kicked off her Unraveled tour, and surprises from the show, which scores of fans have paid a lot of money to see, have already been dissected online.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The twentieth century held some surprises for us all: the flicker of the motion pictures, the yammer of the radio, the mounting rumble of foreign wars, the jangle of change.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
The Scottish writer would certainly have been surprised to see David Oyelowo playing Long John Silver, which is one of the six-part series’ better innovations, despite Mr. Oyelowo chewing the scenery like hardtack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
A different source said it was "clumsy", while another said they were surprised that the prime minister had "misspoken".
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Sebastian is so busy I’d be surprised if he even knew he has an XM channel,” comedian Nick Vatterott joked in his post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
As such, Mills said that he would be surprised if the execution happened.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
He was not surprised to see the pile-up.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
So maybe it isn’t all that surprising that before my husband and I bought my dream home in southern Connecticut, I made sure my place would be as climate-proof as possible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Instead, the surprising finding is that increasing one form appears to coincide with a reduction in the other.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
"We will uncover life that is more surprising, more intelligent, and even more precious than we ever realised," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Next level for R.E.M. is trying to sing the Mike Mills harmonies, and it’s not surprising that Narducy, the man who is the definition of an alt-rock journeyman, is spot on.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
“You know,” I said, surprising myself, “I think I am.”
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
