surprisingly

adverb

sur·​pris·​ing·​ly sər-ˈprī-ziŋ-lē 

sə-

1

: in a surprising manner : to a surprising degree

a surprisingly fast runner

2

: it is surprising that

surprisingly, voter turnout was high

Examples of surprisingly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And the host is surprisingly game to poke fun at his own prickly Hollywood reputation, lending the entire hour-long episode a kind of comedy synergy that elevates it above the usual collection of reference jokes. — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026

Perhaps surprisingly, the data revealed that congestion can increase engagement. — Mureji Fatunde-Iloeje, ArsTechnica, 25 July 2026

Not surprisingly, all of this resulted in a strong overall preference for the higher refresh rate settings across the 31 participants. — John Archer, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026

Hand-built in Brooklyn, the open lattice design creates visual depth while keeping the piece surprisingly light and airy despite its generous size. — Nina Derwin, Architectural Digest, 24 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for surprisingly

• tantalizingly
• unsurprisingly
• uncompromisingly

Kids Definition

surprisingly

adverb

sur·​pris·​ing·​ly -lē 

1

: in a surprising manner : to a surprising degree

a surprisingly fast runner

2

: it is surprising that

surprisingly, no one disagreed