surprise

1 of 2

noun

sur·​prise sər-ˈprīz How to pronounce surprise (audio)
sə-
variants or less commonly surprize
1
a
: an attack made without warning
b
: a taking unawares
2
: something that surprises
3
: the feeling caused by something unexpected or unusual

surprise

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly surprize
surprised also surprized; surprising also surprizing

transitive verb

1
: to attack unexpectedly
also : to capture by an unexpected attack
2
a
: 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.

intransitive verb

: to cause astonishment or surprise
Her success didn't surprise.
surpriser noun
Choose the Right Synonym for surprise

surprise, astonish, astound, amaze, flabbergast mean to impress forcibly through unexpectedness.

surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.

surprised to find them at home

astonish implies surprising so greatly as to seem incredible.

a discovery that astonished the world

astound stresses the shock of astonishment.

too astounded to respond

amaze suggests an effect of bewilderment.

amazed by the immense size of the place

flabbergast may suggest thorough astonishment and bewilderment or dismay.

flabbergasted by his angry refusal

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
Maybe a ball-control offensive game plan and this talented Patriots defense have a surprise in store. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Sep. 2023 The two had quite the whirlwind relationship, one that took may people by surprise. Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 15 Sep. 2023 Two more days would pass before tactical teams homed in on Cavalcante and took him by surprise – successfully capturing the fugitive with the help of a police dog, authorities announced Wednesday. Brian Todd, CNN, 15 Sep. 2023 Stallone expressed surprise at clips of early TV appearances during the 1980s to market his early Rocky movies. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023 Your list might be wildly different, which shouldn’t be a surprise given all the great Hank songs to pick from. Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 15 Sep. 2023 The film’s visual stylishness shouldn’t come as a surprise. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 14 Sep. 2023 To the surprise of many, the session was replete with specifics. WIRED, 14 Sep. 2023 As a surprise, Pitt gifted bridal party the Jetsetter bundle from her new fashion-forward travel accessories brand Reset The Label. Emily Strohm, Peoplemag, 3 Sep. 2023
Verb
During the meeting, a headline hit from the Wall Street Journal that the pricing would be $52 a share, which surprised the bankers and executives, who ended up settling on $51. Ryan Gould, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2023 As the curtains drew, audience members were surprised by a special pre-recorded greeting from Anna Wintour welcoming the Vogue Club community to enjoy the upcoming live stream, as guests oohed and ahhed along with each surprise the evening's performance offered. Vogue, 15 Sep. 2023 The video was later played to the gathering at Bolt Farm, and then afterward, Brown and Woolard walked in to surprise their guests. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2023 Related The hardware was great, but judging by the videos and photos from the night, the real highlight for Taylor was when *NSYNC surprised the crowd inside the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 13 Sep. 2023 That doesn’t surprise Nate Golden, a Baltimore teacher who leads the Maryland Child Alliance. Giacomo Bologna, Baltimore Sun, 12 Sep. 2023 This is not the first time Sheeran has surprised unsuspecting fans. Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 12 Sep. 2023 While the continent’s big-hitting fashion capitals appear in the list, a few entries may surprise—and potentially inspire an alternative artistic escape. 10. Connor Sturges, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2023 Kamenetz has been surprised by how well the 70,000-strong community has taken the weather’s impact on their party. Chris Stokel-Walker, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2023 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English suppryse exaction, seizure, from Anglo-French sousprise, supprise, from feminine of supris, surpris, suspris, past participle of surprendre & susprendre to capture, take by surprise, from sur- & sus-, suz under + prendre to take — more at prize, sous-chef

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of surprise was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near surprise

Cite this Entry

“Surprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surprise. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

surprise

1 of 2 noun
sur·​prise sə(r)-ˈprīz How to pronounce surprise (audio)
1
a
: an attack made without warning
b
: an act or an instance of coming upon someone suddenly
2
: something that surprises
3
: the state of being surprised : astonishment

surprise

2 of 2 verb
variants also surprize
surprised also surprized; surprising also surprizing
1
a
: to attack without warning
b
: to capture by an unexpected attack
2
: to come upon unexpectedly
3
: to fill with wonder or amazement because unexpected
surpriser noun

Legal Definition

surprise

noun
sur·​prise
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

Geographical Definition

Surprise

geographical name

Sur·​prise sər-ˈprīz How to pronounce Surprise (audio)
city in south central Arizona west of Phoenix population 117,517

More from Merriam-Webster on surprise

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