1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

surprisingly

adverb

Definition of surprisinglynext
as in unusually
in an unexpected way The kids were surprisingly well-behaved during the sleepover. The restaurant's food was affordable and surprisingly delicious.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surprisingly Fees can be surprisingly costly, so be sure there aren't any early payment penalties and pay attention to origination fees. — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026 Save for a few outliers, the M5 Pro mini put on a show in our benchmark tests, which is impressive for such a surprisingly competitive price. — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026 The effects of this secondary maturation are surprisingly subtle, and as mentioned before that’s actually a very good thing. — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 20 Sep. 2026 Perched along the Illinois River near Oglesby, 18 sandstone canyons cut into towering bluffs, creating surprisingly dramatic views throughout the park—this is smack in the middle of farm country, after all. — Taryn Shorr-McKee, Midwest Living, 20 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surprisingly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surprisingly
  1. unusually
  2. unexpectedly
  3. amazingly
  4. astonishingly
  5. astoundingly
  6. stunningly
Adverb
  • The film navigates an unusually delicate tonal terrain between black comedy, suspense and the fantastic.
    — Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The agency’s new director issued an unusually harsh public rebuke.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of unusually
Adverb
  • If your browser or security software warns that a site copied something unexpectedly, take that warning seriously.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has unexpectedly delayed the distribution of the shots to a key federal program and some states.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of unexpectedly
Adverb
  • The movie never punches for laughs, and the filmmakers are amazingly assured in their subtle style and their meticulous attention to detail.
    — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 20 Sep. 2026
  • And amazingly, though perhaps not surprisingly, Zverev has been able to collect those two trophies without beating either Alcaraz or Sinner all year.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of amazingly
Adverb
  • If this were to be done, making just a handful of them would be astonishingly expensive per aircraft.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Yet given how rickety and stingy the country’s system of early-childhood support already is, the specifics of Vance’s proposal could produce astonishingly cruel results.
    — Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of astonishingly
Adverb
  • Today, almost 160 years since Twain’s account of his trip was first published, global travel has become astoundingly more accessible, efficient, and interconnected.
    — CNT Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026
  • An astoundingly prolific painter, Max was also a canny businessman.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of astoundingly
Adverb
  • And this must have been one of the most stunningly beautiful places in all of the world.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • As artistic director of Emilio Pucci since 2021, Miceli has infused the brand with the same happy spirit as evidenced by the singular shows staged over the years in stunningly beautiful locations from Capri to Portofino.
    — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of stunningly

Browse Nearby Words

surprising
surprisingly
surreal
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surprisingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surprisingly. Accessed 27 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All