surprised 1 of 2

adjective

variants also surprized
Definition of surprisednext
as in startled

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surprised

2 of 2

verb

variants also surprized
past tense of surprise
1
as in amazed
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected I was very surprised when my parents offered to pay the down payment on our house

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in ambushed
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise FBI agents surprised the counterfeiters in their own base of operations

Synonyms & Similar 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 surprised
Adjective
When Artificial does go wide, audiences may be most surprised to find out that the true lead of Artificial isn’t Garfield’s ambitious Altman but Borisov’s brilliant, sweet oddball Ilya Sutskever. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026 The staffer refused to answer questions but listened, with a surprised expression, as the producer called the mission’s number and played the voicemail greeting in its entirety. — Max Saltman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Verb
The earnest Panthers fan wouldn’t be all that surprised by this. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2026 The quick short corner surprised Greenville (6-16-5), and Barea hit the edge of the 18-yard box before lifting a cross to the far post. — Idaho Statesman, 4 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surprised
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surprised
  1. startled
  2. amazed
  3. ambushed
  4. awed
  5. shocked
  6. attacked
  7. bewildered
  8. stunned
Adjective
  • Ewart, 43, a fellow opponent of the data center project, was startled to hear that.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The startled deputy lets out a scream and races back toward his patrol vehicle.
    — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of startled
Verb
  • And especially with the stock market—I’m amazed the stock market still hasn’t really taken the hit.
    — Victoria Feng, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Perhaps what amazed me the most was the breadth and the depth to which a general American public seemed to be at a tipping point around the exorbitant cost of health care and how cavernous the gap is between the one percent and the 99 percent.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of amazed
Verb
  • Shot in the Canary Islands, Doom Scroll watches as a family’s Passover Seder is ambushed by intruders hungry for revenge, viral fame and power.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The White Sox ambushed Houston ace Hunter Brown in a four-run first inning.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambushed
Adjective
  • This audience listened in awed silence, and by the end of the song, everyone around us was crying as well, before jolting upward in a spontaneous standing ovation — one of three.
    — James Gunn, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Maxwell, a fiction editor at The New Yorker, drew upon his own awed discovery of France in 1948; the novel’s opening paragraphs show one of the protagonists weeping at the sight of the French shore.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
Definition of awed
Verb
  • Don't be shocked if the liberals start accusing NBA legend Charles Barkley of being MAGA.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Tonia Jones was shocked to learn that Metrolink fares were going up.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of shocked
Verb
  • Shortly after, Iran attacked commercial vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz, unraveling the precarious cease-fire the country had struck with the United States three months earlier.
    — Narges Bajoghli, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Russia also attacked warehouse facilities in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region on Friday, wounding three people, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said on Telegram.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacked
Adjective
  • But Iñárritu’s caricatures become people in a way Kubrick’s don’t; as the bewildered President, for example, John Goodman is simultaneously grounded and theatrical in his presentation, recalling his best work with the Coen brothers.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Five o’clock Saturday, the Riverside Stadium and Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg is fist-pumping a half-bewildered but fully enthused home crowd.
    — Michael Walker, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of bewildered
Verb
  • Two weeks later, back in Amsterdam, he was stunned to see another patient with strong similarities.
    — Deepa Fernandes, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Drinkwitz has become emotional when talking about Jones’ condition, stunned that a former high school football and basketball star was in need of life-saving procedures in such a short amount of time.
    — PJ Green October 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of stunned

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Cite this Entry

“Surprised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surprised. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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