surprise
/səˈprʌɪz
/noun
1An unexpected or astonishing event, fact, etc. the announcement came as a complete surprise...
- The trip here was full of surprises, like the fact that Jon got incredibly seasick almost the minute we left.
- Surprise in war is achieved by doing the unexpected and the avoidance of unpleasant surprises is what military intelligence is all about.
- The political environment in Louisiana is always full of surprises but is seldom surprising.
Synonyms
shock, bolt from/out of the blue, thunderbolt, bombshell, revelation, source of amazement, rude awakening, eye-opener
informal start
turn up for the books, shocker, whammy
1.1 [mass noun] A feeling of mild astonishment or shock caused by something unexpected: much to her surprise, she’d missed him...
- Grant had an interesting expression, something of mild surprise, anger, and annoyance.
- She looked down in mild surprise and disdain before breaking off the shaft and holding it up to inspect it more closely.
- One detaches himself from the herd, I note with mild surprise, and heads outside with me.
Synonyms
astonishment, amazement, incredulity, bewilderment, stupefaction, wonder, confusion, disbelief;
consternation
1.2 [as modifier] Denoting something done or happening unexpectedly: a surprise attack...
- For his part, Eisenhower feared a surprise attack and war by miscalculation.
- Others are engineers who manned machine guns to defend comrades from surprise attacks.
- Initially, the air security service was tasked with preventing surprise attack by enemy aviation.
2 [as modifier] Bell-ringing Denoting a complex method of change-ringing: surprise major
verb [with object]
1(Of something unexpected) cause (someone) to feel mild astonishment or shock: I was surprised at his statement [with object and clause]: Joe was surprised that he enjoyed the journey...
- On the train I ask the chatty parent whether he was surprised at the appointment of a woman.
- He was surprised at the feelings Kate had provoked in him since he'd met her the previous day.
- The researchers were pleasantly surprised to find 56 more gorillas.
Synonyms
astonish, amaze, nonplus, startle, astound, stun, flabbergast, stagger, shock, stop someone in their tracks, stupefy, leave open-mouthed, take someone's breath away, dumbfound, daze, benumb, confound, take aback, jolt, shake up
informal bowl over, knock for six, floor, blow someone's mind, strike dumb
astonished, amazed, in amazement, nonplussed, taken aback, startled, astounded, stunned, flabbergasted, staggered, shocked, shell-shocked, stupefied, open-mouthed, dumbfounded, dumbstruck, speechless, at a loss for words, thunderstruck, dazed, benumbed, confounded, agape, goggle-eyed, wide-eyed, jolted, shaken up
informal bowled over, knocked for six, floored, flummoxed, caught on the hop, caught on the wrong foot, unable to believe one's eyes/ears
unexpected, unanticipated, unforeseen, unpredictable, unpredicted;
astonishing, amazing, startling, astounding, striking, staggering, incredible, extraordinary, dazzling, breathtaking, remarkable, wonderful, unusual
informal mind-blowing, amazeballs
1.1Capture, attack, or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: he surprised a gang stealing scrap metal...
- When they got in they could then surprise the occupants, catching them off guard easily.
- Information that is not tracked could later surprise the Army on the battlefield.
- To be able to surprise the U.S. military, they will try to learn more about it than the military knows about itself.
Synonyms
take by surprise, catch unawares, catch off guard, catch red-handed, catch in the act, catch napping, catch out, burst in on, catch someone with their trousers/pants down, catch in flagrante delicto
British informal catch on the hop
Phrases
surprise, surprise
take someone/thing by surprise
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'unexpected seizure of a place, or attack on troops'): from Old French, feminine past participle of surprendre, from medieval Latin superprehendere 'seize'.
From the 15th century a surprise was a sudden unexpected attack or seizure of a place. You could also use the word to talk about simply taking a place by force, whether unexpected or not, as in ‘the surprise of Troy’, even after a siege of ten years. Over time the suggestion of force faded away and the sense of something being unexpected came to the fore. The source was medieval Latin superprehendere ‘to seize’, from prehendere source of words listed at prison.