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:
While some fans lap up the opportunity to see what's coming, others are taking extreme measures to preserve the element of surprise.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
That conclusion shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone after all this time.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
“Out of all the tours that I do, it’s the one that brings the most surprise to people.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The chip maker’s report “isn’t an earnings surprise story anymore,” said Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
I take my cue from Father and don’t express surprise at such a strange, unusual name.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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
"If there is one thing I have learned after 10 years working with Mars rovers, it is that Mars constantly throws surprises at you," said Bedford.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 30, 2026
Among the surprises are Harvard-Westlake, San Marino, St. Bernard, Royal, all of which have struggled to obtain winning records in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
“Me and Mom are going to be surprising you for your birthday tomorrow, and I know how you hate surprises, so act surprised.”
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
And I wouldn’t be surprised if Pugh’s exquisite, gorgeously brutal rendition leads more of us to her defense.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
For example, the Iowa project hasn’t actually been approved, and the Koreans were surprised to hear that they had committed $54 billion for a pipeline project in Alaska.
From Slate ● Oct. 3, 2026
"To be honest I was a little bit surprised but if you see the rankings, the girls ranked higher than me have either a fight booked or they have just fought," said Cong.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
The researchers were surprised to find signs of DNA damage regardless of whether the UV dose was delivered over a shorter or longer period.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
“I’m kind of surprised you sleep in here with us,” I said.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
"Definitely, when you step out actually for three races and you come back, you actually notice a bigger difference. And the last two weekends have been surprising."
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
It’s not entirely surprising, then, that “Promising Young Woman” has found its way back into the conversation surrounding what’s happening at Cornell.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
The 70-foot-wide curtain painstakingly created by L.A. artist Enrique Martínez Celaya is a surprising choice for a major opera house where one would expect a pattern or imagery related to storytelling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
The more relevant takeaway is that, with our current combination of solid economic growth and elevated inflation, today’s yields don’t look at all surprising.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
“Is that not the most surprising thing you ever heard in your entire life, Helena?”
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
