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:
Replacing Trudeau as leader of his party and the government in March 2025, he won a general election a month later, to everyone's surprise.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Bonds, meanwhile, rallied a little amid continued fallout from the Treasury Department’s surprise announcement last week that it would at least double the size of longer-term bond buybacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
Soccer is the most popular sport in Sudan, so it’s no surprise he knows how to kick a ball with his big leg.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
But Sunday's surprise midfield partner Guehi showcased his versatility by scoring the 10th Premier League goal of his career with an 84th minute header.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The doctors, psychiatrists, and nutritionists who came free of charge to any place that cared for war victims, sometimes expressed surprise at our loose-run ways.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
This surprises many on Wall Street, since AI models supposedly are getting more sophisticated and less prone to hallucinations.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
The past few years have been littered with surprises from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s just as ambitious and loaded with ideas and surprises, but Mitchell isn’t trying to make this story anything more than it needs to be.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
The fun along with — of course — the doubts, the surprises, the deadlines, the page count.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
The world may well be filled with all sorts of surprises, but she was not one to be surprised when she encountered any of them.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
When the couple asked him to officiate their wedding, he was surprised and sought the counsel of a priest friend, who told Douthat he should do it if he could be spiritually helpful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Parton said she felt better in bright colours and shiny clothes on stage: "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap"
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Scientists were surprised that microbes like these could endure exposure on the exterior of the space station.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026
Last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent surprised the market with plans to buy more long-dated Treasurys in September, October and early November, hoping to keep a lid on yields.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Charlie looked as surprised as he ever got.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
This shifting relationship isn’t all that surprising, according to Jeffrey Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
How surprising is it that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are returning to the U.K.?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
But it would not be surprising if the BJP eventually figures it out it, Pal says.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
This is not particularly surprising given how robust the July and August calendars, two typically lighter months, have been.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s not surprising that you latched on to the first person who showed an interest in you.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
