surprisingly

adverb

sur·​pris·​ing·​ly sər-ˈprī-ziŋ-lē 

sə-

1

: in a surprising manner : to a surprising degree

a surprisingly fast runner

2

: it is surprising that

surprisingly, voter turnout was high

Examples of surprisingly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Kidman styled her long blonde hair in a low ponytail paired with a surprisingly low-key accessory and cutoff shorts. — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 18 July 2026

A day before, France surprisingly exited stage left in a 2-0 defeat to Spain. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 18 July 2026

A week before Wembanyama agreed to that contract, the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the division-rival Philadelphia 76ers for a surprisingly meager package, which infuriated much of their fanbase. — Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

His work always speaks to our present, sometimes in surprisingly personal ways. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 17 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for surprisingly

• tantalizingly
• unsurprisingly
• uncompromisingly

Kids Definition

surprisingly

adverb

sur·​pris·​ing·​ly -lē 

1

: in a surprising manner : to a surprising degree

a surprisingly fast runner

2

: it is surprising that

surprisingly, no one disagreed