To save this word, you'll need to log in.
sur·prise | \ sər-ˈprīz 
, sə-\
, sə-\variants:
or less commonly surprize
Definition of surprise
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : an attack made without warning
b : a taking unawares
2 : something that surprises
3 : the feeling caused by something unexpected or unusual
surprise
verbvariants:
or less commonly surprize
surprised also surprized; surprising also surprizing
Definition of surprise (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : to attack unexpectedly also : to capture by an unexpected attack
2a : to take unawares
Police surprised the burglars in the store.
b : to detect or elicit by a taking unawares
… sometimes surprised a tragic shadow in her eyes.— Willa Cather
3 : to strike with wonder or amazement especially because unexpected
His conduct surprised me.
: to cause astonishment or surprise
Her success didn't surprise.
Surprise
geographical nameSur·prise | \ sər-ˈprīz \
\Definition of Surprise (Entry 3 of 3)
city in south central Arizona west of Phoenix population 117,517
Keep scrolling for more
Synonyms for surprise
Synonyms: Noun
Synonyms: Verb
- amaze,
- astonish,
- astound,
- bowl over,
- dumbfound
- (also dumfound),
- flabbergast,
- floor,
- rock,
- shock,
- startle,
- stun,
- stupefy,
- thunderstrike
Examples of surprise in a Sentence
Noun
What a pleasant surprise to see you!
It's no surprise that he doesn't want to go.
Is it any surprise that she should feel disappointed?
The teacher sprang a surprise on us and gave a pop quiz.
I have a special surprise for the children.
The trip was a surprise for her birthday.
Is the party a surprise?
Imagine our surprise when they sold their house and moved to the Bahamas.
He stared at her in surprise. Verb
The results will surprise you.
Nothing you could say would surprise me.
They surprised everyone by moving to the Bahamas.
A police officer surprised the burglars.
The troops were surprised by an attack from the north.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The size of the potential profit hit clearly took investors by surprise.
—
Washington Post, "Holiday Giant Pays a Price for Grounded 737 Max," 18 Sep. 2019 This time, however, Fisher and other scientists say they won’t be taken by surprise.
—
Warren Cornwall, Science | AAAS, "Is ‘The Blob’ back? New marine heat wave threatens Pacific," 17 Sep. 2019 There is one element that has caught even those who know him by surprise.
—
New York Times, "João Félix Is in a Hurry. So Is Everyone Else.," 12 Sep. 2019 The need for vetting is so strong that the demand caught the makers of several tools by surprise.
—
Wired, "Fighting Instagram's $1.3 Billion Problem—Fake Followers," 10 Sep. 2019 The Cardinals infielder took the Giants by surprise by dropping a bunt in between the pitcher’s mound and first base.
—
Kerry Crowley, The Mercury News, "Tony Watson lays out ‘like a 34-year-old dad,’ updates status after X-Ray," 5 Sep. 2019 The popular Montrose patio bar Present Company has drawn eyes for its creative cocktails in the past, but a new addition to the menu might take some by surprise.
—
Rebecca Hennes, Houston Chronicle, "Popular Montrose bar now serving CBD-infused cocktails," 5 Sep. 2019 This sudden rise has caught authorities by surprise.
—
The Economist, "Afghan drug barons are branching out into methamphetamines," 5 Sep. 2019 The dramatic rise in fentanyl deaths has caught many by surprise.
—
Matt Mccarthy, USA TODAY, "Ben Westhoff's 'Fentanyl, Inc.' confronts horrible truths about America's opioid epidemic," 2 Sep. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb News of a tour may not surprise some fans, as Murphy was rumored to have been in negotiations with Netflix for upward of $70 million to do a series of stand-up specials.
—
Rachel Yang, EW.com, "Eddie Murphy says he's going on a stand-up tour in 2020," 6 Sep. 2019 The answer, as people used to say, might surprise you.
—
Graeme Mcmillan, WIRED, "While You Were Offline: Who Wants to See Sean Spicer’s Samba?," 25 Aug. 2019 That doesn’t surprise me because there is no cause.
—
Danielle Lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville fires veteran men's tennis coach Rex Ecarma after independent investigation," 16 Aug. 2019 We're not surprised that Magnolia has us prepped with products for pretty much every single part of our homes.
—
Megan Uy, House Beautiful, "Joanna Gaines Just Released Magnolia Market's Fall Collection, and We Want Everything," 12 Aug. 2019 After the way every possible permutation of this topic has been bandied about for the past month — such is the NBA silly season — the answers should not surprise anyone.
—
Nick Talbot, ExpressNews.com, "Writers’ Roundtable: Are the Spurs still a playoff team after this offseason?," 20 July 2019 Yelich said he was not surprised that the team has continued to win without him.
—
Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Christian Yelich's kneecap is broken but not his spirit as he prepares to cheer on the Brewers," 16 Sep. 2019 Most important, drivers look out for cyclists, cede the right of way, and are rarely surprised by them.
—
Dan Kois, The New Yorker, "How I Learned to Cycle Like a Dutchman," 13 Sep. 2019 Vazquez said he was not surprised that Arizona pays above the national average.
—
Andrew Howard, azcentral, "Here's why it costs more to own a car in 2019, according to AAA study," 12 Sep. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'surprise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Learn More about surprise
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
October Surprise
October Surprise
The surprising history of an election buzzword
Dictionary Entries near surprise
Statistics for surprise
Last Updated
24 Oct 2019
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for surprise
The first known use of surprise was in the 15th century
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for surprise
surprise
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of surprise
(Entry 1 of 2)
: an unexpected event, piece of information, etc.
: an unexpected gift, party, etc.
: the feeling caused by something that is unexpected or unusual
surprise
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of surprise (Entry 2 of 2)
: to cause (someone) to feel surprised
: to find, attack, or meet (someone or something) unexpectedly
See the full definition for surprise in the English Language Learners Dictionary
surprise
nounsur·prise | \ sər-ˈprīz , sə-ˈprīz\
, sə-ˈprīz\Kids Definition of surprise
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : something that is unexpected
I have a surprise for you.
2 : astonishment, amazement … it held up to them a little white object. They all looked at it in surprise …— C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3 : an act or instance of coming upon without warning
They were taken by surprise.
surprise
verbsurprised; surprising
Kids Definition of surprise (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : to cause to feel wonder or amazement because of being unexpected
Her resemblance to her father surprised me.
2 : to come upon without warning
The robbers were surprised by police.
3 : to attack without warning : capture by an unexpected attack
surprise
nounsur·prise
Legal Definition of surprise
1 : a condition or situation in which a party to a proceeding is unexpectedly placed without any fault or neglect of his or her own and that entitles the party to relief (as a new trial)
2 : an aspect of procedural unconscionability that consists of hiding a term of a contract in a mass of text
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on surprise
What made you want to look up surprise? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Confusing Words—A Quiz
- I invented a brand new toaster robot and
______it "Sir Toasts-a-Lot."
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
- Confusing Words—A Quiz
Test your knowledge of these commonly confused words!
Take the quiz - Here Be Dragons: A Creature Identification Quiz Take the quiz
- Spell It
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
Take the quiz - Bee Cubed
Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.
Play the game
Share surprise
Resources for surprise