surprise
1 of 2noun
sur·prise sər-ˈprīz 
sə-
variants or less commonly surprize
1
a
: an attack made without warning
b
: a taking unawares
2
: something that surprises
3
: the feeling caused by something unexpected or unusual
surprise
2 of 2verb
variants or less commonly surprize
surprised also surprized; surprising also surprizing
transitive verb
1
: to attack unexpectedly
also : to capture by an unexpected attack
2
a
: to take unawares
Police surprised the burglars in the store.
b
: to detect or elicit by a taking unawares
… sometimes surprised a tragic shadow in her eyes.
Willa Cather
Willa Cather3
: to strike with wonder or amazement especially because unexpected
His conduct surprised me.
intransitive verb
: to cause astonishment or surprise
Her success didn't surprise.
surpriser noun
Synonyms
Noun
- bombshell
- jar
- jaw-dropper
- jolt
- stunner
Verb
- amaze
- astonish
- astound
- bowl over
- dumbfound
- dumfound
- flabbergast
- floor
- rock
- shock
- startle
- stun
- stupefy
- thunderstrike
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun What a pleasant surprise to see you! It's no surprise that he doesn't want to go. Is it any surprise that she should feel disappointed? The teacher sprang a surprise on us and gave a pop quiz. I have a special surprise for the children. The trip was a surprise for her birthday. Is the party a surprise? Imagine our surprise when they sold their house and moved to the Bahamas. He stared at her in surprise. Verb The results will surprise you. Nothing you could say would surprise me. They surprised everyone by moving to the Bahamas. A police officer surprised the burglars. The troops were surprised by an attack from the north. See More
Recent Examples on the Web Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Sep. 2022 In a surprise move, Jake Wagner pleaded guilty last year to multiple counts of murder and other charges on the fifth anniversary of the executions. Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 7 Sep. 2022 For anyone who has followed the organization for any period of time, this comes as little surprise. Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 7 Sep. 2022 In 2011, all the nominees for the Best Comedy Actress took the stage as their names were called, taking the audience by surprise and prompting quite a bit of laughter. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2022 Billionaire Gautam Adani has made this surprise move amid these allegations. Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 25 Aug. 2022 Certainly surprise and disappointment are among them. Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 24 Aug. 2022 In a surprise move, Universal is sending Halloween Ends day-and-date to theaters and to its streaming service, Peacock. Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Aug. 2022 In a surprise move, the streamer just released an additional episode of The Sandman. Christian Holub, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022 Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 7 Sep. 2022 That latter factor will surprise no one familiar with the output of Gavras, son of renowned Greek director Costa-Gavras, who made a mark with his dynamic music videos for artists including Kanye West, Jay-Z and M.I.A. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 O’Connell is far from a pushover, and the Boilermakers defense could surprise some folks. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 29 Aug. 2022 Armed with increasingly lethal weapons from the U.S. and other allies, Ukraine has been able to occasionally seize the initiative and surprise Russian forces. Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2022 But the agreement was quickly met with skepticism by experts, who cited the risks in the NFT market and surprise that BYU would place itself in the volatile industry. Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Aug. 2022 That those teams should monopolize the promotion places does not surprise Parry. New York Times, 5 Aug. 2022 In addition to the sudden challenges to identity that arise, surprise home DNA test results can turn the notion of violation on its head. Sarah Treleaven, ELLE, 27 July 2022 The most special guest was Adams himself, who showed up with flowers to surprise Hyland and play a round of The Newlywed Game. Adrianna C. Freedman, PEOPLE.com, 27 July 2022 See More
Noun
After that bit of a surprise move, Whittingham was pretty firm that Mokofisi and Laumea would stick long term, joining Braeden Daniels, Keaton Bills, and Paul Maile from left to right. Josh Newman, The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Sep. 2022 In a surprise move, Jake Wagner pleaded guilty last year to multiple counts of murder and other charges on the fifth anniversary of the executions. Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 7 Sep. 2022 For anyone who has followed the organization for any period of time, this comes as little surprise. Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 7 Sep. 2022 In 2011, all the nominees for the Best Comedy Actress took the stage as their names were called, taking the audience by surprise and prompting quite a bit of laughter. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2022 Billionaire Gautam Adani has made this surprise move amid these allegations. Niharika Sharma, Quartz, 25 Aug. 2022 Certainly surprise and disappointment are among them. Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 24 Aug. 2022 In a surprise move, Universal is sending Halloween Ends day-and-date to theaters and to its streaming service, Peacock. Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Aug. 2022 In a surprise move, the streamer just released an additional episode of The Sandman. Christian Holub, EW.com, 19 Aug. 2022 Verb
Look for the Las Vegas Raiders to surprise some folks though. Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 7 Sep. 2022 That latter factor will surprise no one familiar with the output of Gavras, son of renowned Greek director Costa-Gavras, who made a mark with his dynamic music videos for artists including Kanye West, Jay-Z and M.I.A. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 O’Connell is far from a pushover, and the Boilermakers defense could surprise some folks. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 29 Aug. 2022 Armed with increasingly lethal weapons from the U.S. and other allies, Ukraine has been able to occasionally seize the initiative and surprise Russian forces. Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2022 But the agreement was quickly met with skepticism by experts, who cited the risks in the NFT market and surprise that BYU would place itself in the volatile industry. Kevin Reynolds, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Aug. 2022 That those teams should monopolize the promotion places does not surprise Parry. New York Times, 5 Aug. 2022 In addition to the sudden challenges to identity that arise, surprise home DNA test results can turn the notion of violation on its head. Sarah Treleaven, ELLE, 27 July 2022 The most special guest was Adams himself, who showed up with flowers to surprise Hyland and play a round of The Newlywed Game. Adrianna C. Freedman, PEOPLE.com, 27 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English suppryse exaction, seizure, from Anglo-French sousprise, supprise, from feminine of supris, surpris, suspris, past participle of surprendre & susprendre to capture, take by surprise, from sur- & sus-, suz under + prendre to take — more at prize, sous-chef
First Known Use
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Phrases Containing surprise
Kids Definition
surprise 1 of 2
noun
sur·prise sər-ˈprīz
sə-ˈprīz
1
: something that is unexpected
I have a surprise for you.
2
: astonishment, amazement
… it held up to them a little white object. They all looked at it in surprise … C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe3
: an act or instance of coming upon without warning
They were taken by surprise.
surprise
2 of 2verb
surprised; surprising
1
: to cause to feel wonder or amazement because of being unexpected Her resemblance to her father surprised me.
2
: to come upon without warning
The robbers were surprised by police.
3
: to attack without warning : capture by an unexpected attack
Legal Definition
surprise
noun
sur·prise
1
: a condition or situation in which a party to a proceeding is unexpectedly placed without any fault or neglect of his or her own and that entitles the party to relief (as a new trial)
2
: an aspect of procedural unconscionability that consists of hiding a term of a contract in a mass of text
Geographical Definition
Surprise
geographical name
Sur·prise sər-ˈprīz
city in south central Arizona west of Phoenix population 117,517
surprise 1 of 2
noun
variants also surprize
1
as in shock
something that makes a strong impression because it is so unexpected the anniversary party was such a complete surprise that the couple was speechless for a moment Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- shock
- revelation
- bombshell
- jolt
- stunner
- shocker
- amazement
- wonder
- marvel
- jaw-dropper
- bolt out of the blue
- bolt from the blue
- jar
- thunderclap
- twist
- eye-opener
- fillip
- wrinkle
- kicker
- kick
2
as in amazement
the state of being strongly impressed by something unexpected or unusual stared in utter surprise at the deer in his cabin Synonyms & Similar Words
- amazement
- shock
- astonishment
- dismay
- startlement
- awe
- wonder
- wonderment
- confusion
- stupefaction
- bewilderment
- startle
- consternation
- discomfiture
3
as in ambush
a setup in which hidden attackers lie in wait waited under cover of darkness and took the enemy encampment by surprise at dawn Synonyms & Similar Words
- ambush
- ambushment
- attack
- trap
- assault
- ambuscade
- capture
- charge
- sally
- hunting
- entrapment
- snare
- stalking
- mousetrap
surprise
2 of 2verb
variants also surprize
1
as in to shock
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
- shock
- amaze
- stun
- startle
- astonish
- dumbfound
- astound
- flabbergast
- dumfound
- thunderstrike
- dismay
- stupefy
- take by surprise
- bowl over
- bewilder
- take aback
- rock
- confuse
- daze
- disconcert
- perplex
- befuddle
- shake up
- floor
- blindside
- discomfit
- blow away
- nonplus
- muddle
- confound
- jar
- knock for a loop
2
as in to ambush
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise FBI agents surprised the counterfeiters in their own base of operations Synonyms & Similar Words
- ambush
- attack
- capture
- trap
- waylay
- ambuscade
- hunt
- assault
- storm
- charge
- jump
- tackle
- strike
- assail
- ensnare
- snare
- mug
- sally
- net
- pounce (on)
- stalk
- mousetrap
- entrap
- prey (on or upon)
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of surprise are amaze, astonish, astound, and flabbergast. While all these words mean "to impress forcibly through unexpectedness," surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.
surprised to find them at home
The meanings of amaze and surprise largely overlap; however, amaze suggests an effect of bewilderment.
amazed by the immense size of the place
While the synonyms astonish and surprise are close in meaning, astonish implies surprising so greatly as to seem incredible.
a discovery that astonished the world
The words astound and surprise are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, astound stresses the shock of astonishment.
too astounded to respond
In some situations, the words flabbergast and surprise are roughly equivalent. However, flabbergast may suggest thorough astonishment and bewilderment or dismay.
flabbergasted by his angry refusal