come as a (complete/total) surprise

idiom

: to be unexpected
The news came as a (complete/total) surprise to everyone.

Examples of come as a (complete/total) surprise in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The intermingling of styles shouldn’t come as a surprise. David Browne, Rolling Stone, 21 Mar. 2024 That shouldn’t come as a surprise: In January, Kensington Palace announced that the Princess of Wales was in recovery from an abdominal surgery. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 18 Mar. 2024 This shouldn’t come as a surprise — or be cause for concern. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 29 Feb. 2024 For Xi, a man inclined to see the United States as a fading power, American leadership on Ukraine has surely come as a surprise. William J. Burns, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2024 The news does come as a surprise, as just earlier this month King unveiled a new, eponymous band with Bostaph and former Death Angel singer Mark Osegueda, and cast doubt on a Slayer reunion. Jem Aswad, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024 To be clear: The championship locations for basketball, soccer, baseball, tennis, rowing, golf, gymnastics and several other sports did not come as a surprise to the Bay Area schools. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2024 The denouement didn’t come as a surprise to DeSantis allies, but the timing did. Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2024 Both coaches gave no hesitation that the change did come as a surprise. Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'come as a (complete/total) surprise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near come as a (complete/total) surprise

come as

come as a (complete/total) surprise

come as a revelation

Cite this Entry

“Come as a (complete/total) surprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/come%20as%20a%20%28complete%2Ftotal%29%20surprise. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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