surprised

adjective

sur·​prised sər-ˈprīzd 

sə-

: feeling or showing surprise because of something unexpected

was very surprised to see her there

was too surprised to speak

a surprised expression

Examples of surprised in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On April 14, 2021, days after Prince Philip's death, the official royal family Instagram account surprised followers with a previously unseen photo of the prince and Queen Elizabeth posing with seven of their great-grandchildren. —Kate Hogan, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026

Caroline wouldn’t have been surprised if her own parents had regretted having her. —Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2026

While standing on a corner in Winslow, don’t be surprised if someone saunters up with a guitar and starts strumming favorites from their own road trip playlist. —Susan Montoya Bryan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Carla says her parents had no idea who might be behind the robberies and were surprised the thieves had ignored the millions of dollars’ worth of paintings. —Jennifer Cannon, Vanity Fair, 7 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1882, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for surprised

• advertised
• agonized
• amortized
• analysed
• analyzed
• anglicised
• anglicized
• anodized
• atomized
• authorised
• authorized
• brutalized