surprise

[ ser-prahyz, suh- ]

/ sərˈpraɪz, sə- /

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See synonyms for: surprise / surprised / surprises / surprising on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), sur·prised, sur·pris·ing.

to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.

to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.

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

to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning: to surprise the facts from the witness.

to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended: to surprise a witness into telling the truth.

noun

an act or instance of surprising or being surprised.

something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement: His announcement was a surprise to all.

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

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

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Idioms about surprise

take by surprise,

to come upon unawares.
to astonish; amaze: The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise.

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

synonym study for surprise

1. 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.

historical usage of surprise

The English noun surprise comes from late Middle English, from Anglo-French and Middle French surprise(e), a noun use of the past participle of surprendre “to seize, grasp,” literally, “to overtake," from the French prefix sur- “excessive, over-,” and the verb prendre “to take.”
The original 15th-century meaning of the English noun was “an unexpected or sudden attack without warning” (a surprise attack, therefore, was a redundancy). In the 19th century, the term surprise party came into use with two disparate senses: the earlier one was “a body of soldiers prepared to make a sudden, stealthy attack,” which held close to the original sense of surprise; the second, slightly later one was “a party or celebration planned for someone as a surprise,” which of course has survived as the meaning familiar to us today.

OTHER WORDS FROM surprise

sur·pris·ed·ly

[ser-prahy-zid-lee, -prahyzd-, suh-], /sərˈpraɪ zɪd li, -ˈpraɪzd-, sə-/, adverbsur·pris·er, nounsu·per·sur·prise, nounun·sur·prised, adjective

Words nearby surprise

surplus, surplusage, surplus value, surprint, surprisal, surprise, surprise party, Surprise Symphony, surprising, surprisingly, surra

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use surprise in a sentence

That his extracurricular activity as a vaccine appointment coordinator was going on during school hours came as a surprise to his mother.
My mother and her friends couldn’t get coronavirus vaccine appointments, so they turned to a stranger for help. He’s 13.|Greg Harris|February 12, 2021|Washington Post
By the end, their perception of cold had lessened—no surprise to anyone who has noticed how the same temperature that felt miserably cold for a run in November can feel delightfully warm in March.
How Your Body Does (and Doesn't) Adapt to Cold|Alex Hutchinson|February 10, 2021|Outside Online
No surprise here, since the latter was loosely based on our minds.
This ‘Quantum Brain’ Would Mimic Our Own to Speed Up AI|Shelly Fan|February 9, 2021|Singularity Hub
It shouldn’t come as a surprise as more consumers expecting their favorite brands’ values to align with their own.
Marketing Briefing: How the Super Bowl represents a return to normalcy that’s yet to become reality|Kristina Monllos|February 9, 2021|Digiday

Among the many surprises of the past year, it turns out that one tiny squirrel can provide tremendous solace.
How a sickly squirrel offered me unexpected comfort|Pam Spritzer|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
That Stone would slander the democratic, pro-Western, EuroMaidan revolution as a CIA coup is no surprise.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His surprise marriage to theater director Sophie Hunter may have broken hearts, but the squeals of delight were even louder.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The news came as a surprise even to fans of Gordon-Levitt, who was only photographed with McCauley for the first time last May.
All Your Internet Boyfriends Are Taken: Gosling, Cumberbatch, and now Joseph Gordon-Levitt|Melissa Leon|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Postscript Of all the interviews I did Lee Marvin was by far the biggest surprise.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To my own surprise, last year I started a book club, which includes writers, editors and an agent.
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination|Mindy Farabee|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I was busy loading the piece when an exclamation of surprise from one of the men made me look up.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
A flash of surprise and pleasure lit the fine eyes of the haughty beauty perched up there on the palace wall.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Great was the surprise of Alf at the honour and labour thus thrust upon him, but he did not shrink from it.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Vague murmurs of doubt and surprise reached the ears of two of the British magistrates.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
To Harry's surprise, the soldier detailed to go with him proved to be a boy, not much older than himself.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn

British Dictionary definitions for surprise

surprise

/ (səˈpraɪz) /

verb (tr)

to cause to feel amazement or wonder

to encounter or discover unexpectedly or suddenly

to capture or assault suddenly and without warning

to present with something unexpected, such as a gift

(foll by into) to provoke (someone) to unintended action by a trick, etcto surprise a person into an indiscretion

(often foll by from) to elicit by unexpected behaviour or by a trickto surprise information from a prisoner

noun

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

a sudden or unexpected event, gift, etc

the feeling or condition of being surprised; astonishment

(modifier) causing, characterized by, or relying upon surprisea surprise move

take by surprise

to come upon suddenly and without warning
to capture unexpectedly or catch unprepared
to astonish; amaze

Derived forms of surprise

surprisal, nounsurprised, adjectivesurprisedly (səˈpraɪzɪdlɪ), adverbsurpriser, noun

Word Origin for surprise

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with surprise

surprise

see take by surprise.

surprise

Idioms about surprise

Origin of surprise

synonym study for surprise

historical usage of surprise

OTHER WORDS FROM surprise

Words nearby surprise

Words related to surprise

How to use surprise in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for surprise

Derived forms of surprise

Word Origin for surprise

Other Idioms and Phrases with surprise