surprise

1 of 2

noun

sur·​prise sər-ˈprīz 

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

Synonyms

Noun

• shock

Verb

• amaze
• shock
• stun
• startle
• astonish

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Blue Jackets, who added veteran forwards Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood earlier in the day, selected defenseman Jackson Smith with the No. 14 overall pick and — in a surprise to many — goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov with the No. 20 overall pick. —Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 28 June 2025

Studies using fMRI scans show that when people experience a good magic trick, areas in the brain linked to conflict detection and surprise—like the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex—light up. —Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Verb

In the past, she has been surprised by the condition of upholstered pieces at estate sales upon taking them outside. —Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 28 June 2025

House Democrats picked 47-year old California Rep. Robert Garcia to lead them on the Oversight Committee, surprising the many internal critics who’d assumed the party was married to seniority. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 27 June 2025

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

1548, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing surprise

• be in for a (big/real) surprise
• catch (someone or something) by surprise
• catch unawares/unprepared/by surprise
• come as a (complete/total) surprise
• come as no surprise
• element of surprise
• much to someone's surprise
• October surprise
• spring a surprise
• surprise party
• surprise, surprise
• take (someone or something) by surprise

Rhymes for surprise

• advise
• applies
• apprise
• arise
• assize
• baptize
• belies
• bitwise
• capsize
• chastise
• chordwise
• clockwise

Kids Definition

surprise

1 of 2 noun

sur·​prise sə(r)-ˈprīz 

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 

city in south central Arizona west of Phoenix population 117,517