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
variants
or less commonly surprize
surprised also surprized; surprising also surprizing
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
Willa Cather3
: to strike with wonder or amazement especially because unexpected
His conduct surprised me.
: to cause astonishment or surprise
Her success didn't surprise.
surpriser
noun
Synonyms
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.
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Recent Examples on the WebGlobe 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
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
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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
Phrases Containing surprise
Articles Related to surprise
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.
Copy Citation
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
More from Merriam-Webster on surprise
Nglish: Translation of surprise for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of surprise for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about surprise
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