surprise

sur·prise (s

r-pr

)

tr.v. sur·prised, sur·pris·ing, sur·pris·es

1. To encounter suddenly or unexpectedly; take or catch unawares.

2. To attack or capture suddenly and without warning.

3. To cause to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something unanticipated.

a. To cause (someone) to do or say something unintended.

b. To elicit or detect through surprise.

1. The act of surprising or the condition of being surprised.

2. Something, such as an unexpected encounter, event, or gift, that surprises.

[Middle English surprisen, to overcome, from Old French surprise, feminine past participle of surprendre, to surprise : sur-, sur- + prendre, to take (from Latin prehendere, prndere, to seize; see ghend- in Indo-European roots).]

sur·priser n.

sur·prising·ly adv.

Synonyms: surprise, astonish, amaze, astound, dumbfound, flabbergast
These verbs mean to affect a person strongly as being unexpected or unusual. To surprise is to fill with often sudden wonder or disbelief as being unanticipated or out of the ordinary: "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity" George S. Patton.
Astonish suggests overwhelming surprise: The sight of such an enormous crowd astonished us.
Amaze implies astonishment and often bewilderment: The violinist's virtuosity has amazed audiences all over the world.
Astound connotes shock, as from something unprecedented in one's experience: We were astounded at the beauty of the mountains.
Dumbfound adds to astound the suggestion of perplexity and often speechlessness: His question dumbfounded me, and I could not respond.
Flabbergast is used as a more colorful equivalent of astound, astonish, or amaze: "The aldermen ... were ... flabbergasted; they were speechless from bewilderment" Benjamin Disraeli.

surprise

Noun

1. the act of taking someone unawares: the element of surprise

2. a sudden or unexpected event, gift, etc.: this is a nice surprise

3. the feeling of being surprised; astonishment: to our great surprise

4. take someone by surprise to capture someone unexpectedly or catch someone unprepared

Adjective

causing surprise: a surprise attack

Verb

[-prising, -prised]

1. to cause (someone) to feel amazement or wonder

2. to come upon or discover (someone) unexpectedly or suddenly

3. to capture or attack (someone) suddenly and without warning

4. surprise into to provoke (someone) to unintended action by a trick or deception [Old French surprendre to overtake]

surprised adj
surprising adj
surprisingly adv

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	surprise - the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you amazement, astonishment - the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising; "he looked at me in astonishment"
	2.	surprise - a sudden unexpected event alteration, change, modification - an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another; "the change was intended to increase sales"; "this storm is certainly a change for the worse"; "the neighborhood had undergone few modifications since his last visit years ago" bombshell, thunderbolt, thunderclap - a shocking surprise; "news of the attack came like a bombshell" coup de theatre - a dramatic surprise eye opener - something surprising and revealing peripeteia, peripetia, peripety - a sudden and unexpected change of fortune or reverse of circumstances (especially in a literary work); "a peripeteia swiftly turns a routine sequence of events into a story worth telling" blow, shock - an unpleasant or disappointing surprise; "it came as a shock to learn that he was injured" stunner - an unexpected and amazing event; "the stunner was what happened on Saturday"
	3.	surprise - the act of surprising someone surprisal disruption, perturbation - the act of causing disorder
Verb	1.	surprise - cause to be surprised; "The news really surprised me" amaze, astonish, astound - affect with wonder; "Your ability to speak six languages amazes me!" explode a bombshell - utter or do something surprising; "Father exploded a bombshell when he forbade us to go to the prom" catch - discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state; "She caught her son eating candy"; "She was caught shoplifting" flabbergast, bowl over, boggle - overcome with amazement; "This boggles the mind!" impress, strike, affect, move - have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd" ball over, blow out of the water, floor, shock, take aback - surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off; "I was floored when I heard that I was promoted"
	2.	surprise - come upon or take unawares; "She surprised the couple"; "He surprised an interesting scene" act, move - perform an action, or work out or perform (an action); "think before you act"; "We must move quickly"; "The governor should act on the new energy bill"; "The nanny acted quickly by grabbing the toddler and covering him with a wet towel" blindside - catch unawares, especially with harmful consequences; "The economic downturn blindsided many investors"
	3.	surprise - attack by storm; attack suddenly storm attack, assail - launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week"

surprise

noun 1. shock, start (informal) revelation, jolt, bombshell, eye-opener (informal) bolt from the blue, turn-up for the books (informal)

noun 2. amazement, astonishment, wonder, incredulity, stupefaction

verb 3. amaze, astonish, astound, stun, startle, stagger, disconcert, take aback, bowl over (informal) leave open-mouthed, nonplus, flabbergast (informal) take (someone's) breath away

verb 4. catch unawares or off-guard, catch napping, catch on the hop (informal) burst in on, spring upon, catch in the act or red-handed, come down on like a bolt from the blue

Translations