surprising

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adjective sur·pris·ing \ sər-ˈprī-ziŋ , sə- \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of surprising

:of a nature that excites surprise

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Examples of surprising in a Sentence

It's not surprising that he doesn't want to go.
The changes to the campus were surprising.
He shows a surprising lack of concern for others.
A surprising number of people were laid off at the factory.

Recent Examples of surprising from the Web

But the most surprising tidbit of Gossip Girl info came from executive producer Joshua Safran, who let the world in on a little secret about Lively and Dicaprio's relationship.

— zoe weiner, Glamour, "Blake Lively and Leonardo DiCaprio Had an Interesting Dating Ritual," 30 Aug. 2017
Jim Mora no doubt will be amped for his return to Seattle, and with a healthy Josh Rosen the Bruins could be the Pac-12’s most surprising team.

— adam jude, The Seattle Times, "Breaking down UW’s schedule: Can anyone but Stanford test the Huskies?," 29 Aug. 2017
Its death toll is comparably low, at just six people, but storms kill people in surprising ways.

— olga khazan, The Atlantic, "What Makes a Storm Deadly?," 28 Aug. 2017
Scientists took almost 600 soil samples from across New York’s Central Park and discovered a surprising diversity and richness.

— adrian higgins, idahostatesman, "The zoo beneath our feet: We’re only beginning to understand soil’s hidden world," 23 Aug. 2017
Last week, in a surprising outcome, an Egyptian judge sentenced Ismail Serageldin, the founding director of Egypt's Library of Alexandria, to 3.5 years in prison for financial misdemeanors.

— erik stokstad, Science | AAAS, "Researchers rally around science advocate convicted in Egypt," 11 Aug. 2017
Bacteria That Shape Blood Vessels Researchers have discovered a surprising link between gut-dwelling bacteria and the brain’s blood vessels.

— lacy schley, Discover Magazine, "Biological Building Blocks," 7 Aug. 2017
His dual-threat ability paired with a surprising arm drew some comparisons to former Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall, though Lindsey tried to curb that analogy toward the end of spring.

— tom green, AL.com, "How Auburn freshman quarterback Malik Willis made 'a really big jump' in offseason," 4 Aug. 2017
That was quickly updated with the Tony Cingrani trade, one that wasn’t really surprising.

— c. trent rosecrans, Cincinnati.com, "BAR: Talking about the Reds' quiet trade deadline," 2 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'surprising.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.