Definitions for surprise
sərˈpraɪz, sə-sur·prise

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. surprisenoun

   the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you

2. surprisenoun

   a sudden unexpected event

3. surprise, surprisalverb

   the act of surprising someone

4. surpriseverb

   cause to be surprised

   "The news really surprised me"

5. surpriseverb

   come upon or take unawares

   "She surprised the couple"; "He surprised an interesting scene"

6. storm, surpriseverb

   attack by storm; attack suddenly

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. surprisenoun

   Something not expected.

   It was a surprise to find out I owed twice as much as I thought I did.

2. surprisenoun

   Unexpected.

   The surprise attack was devastating.

3. surprisenoun

   The feeling that something unexpected has happened.

   Imagine my surprise on learning I owed twice as much as I thought I did.

4. surpriseverb

   To cause (someone) to feel unusually alarmed or delighted.

   It surprises me that I owe twice as much as I thought I did.

5. surpriseverb

   To do something to (a person) that they are not expecting, as a surprise.

   He doesn't know that I'm in the country - I thought I'd turn up at his house and surprise him.

6. surpriseverb

   To undergo or witness something unexpected.

   He doesn't surprise easily.

7. surpriseverb

   To cause surprise.

8. surpriseverb

   To attack unexpectedly.

9. surpriseverb

   To take unawares.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Surprisenoun

   the act of coming upon, or taking, unawares; the act of seizing unexpectedly; surprisal; as, the fort was taken by surprise

2. Surprisenoun

   the state of being surprised, or taken unawares, by some act or event which could not reasonably be foreseen; emotion excited by what is sudden and strange; a suddenly excited feeling of wonder or astonishment

3. Surprisenoun

   anything that causes such a state or emotion

4. Surprisenoun

   a dish covered with a crust of raised paste, but with no other contents

5. Surprisenoun

   to come or fall suddenly and unexpectedly; to take unawares; to seize or capture by unexpected attack

6. Surprisenoun

   to strike with wonder, astonishment, or confusion, by something sudden, unexpected, or remarkable; to confound; as, his conduct surprised me

7. Surprisenoun

   to lead (one) to do suddenly and without forethought; to bring (one) into some unexpected state; -- with into; as, to be surprised into an indiscretion; to be surprised into generosity

8. Surprisenoun

   to hold possession of; to hold

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Surprise

   sur-prīz′, n. act of taking unawares: the emotion caused by anything sudden: amazement.—v.t. to come upon suddenly or unawares: to lead or bring unawares, to betray (with into): to strike with wonder or astonishment: to confuse.—n. Surprīs′al, act of surprising.—adv. Surprīs′edly.—adj. Surprīs′ing, exciting surprise: wonderful: unexpected.—adv. Surprīs′ingly.—n. Surprīs′ingness. [Fr.,—surpris, pa.p. of surprendre—L. super, over, prehendĕre, to catch.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. surprise

   In war, to fall on an enemy unexpectedly, in marching through narrow and difficult passes, when one part of an army has passed, and is not able to come at once to the succor of the other; as in the passage of woods, rivers, inclosures, etc. A place is surprised by drains, casements, or the issues of rivers or canals; by encumbering the bridge or gate, or by wagons meeting and stopping each other; or by sending soldiers into the place, under pretense of being deserters, who, on entering, surprise the guard, being sustained by troops at hand in ambush, to whom they give entrance, and thereby seize the place. Military history abounds with instances of successful surprises.

Editors Contribution(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. surprise

   To bring, give or receive a joyful, logical and just contribution or gift.

   We all love our family so we regularly arrange a family gathering for us all, we love to surprise with the type of food we contribute.

   Submitted by MaryC on April 16, 2016  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. surprise

   The surprise symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the surprise symbol and its characteristic.

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Affect
   • Astonishment
   • Attack
   • Change

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'surprise' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2153

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'surprise' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3235

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'surprise' in Nouns Frequency: #903

4. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'surprise' in Verbs Frequency: #894

How to pronounce surprise?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say surprise in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of surprise in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of surprise in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of surprise in a Sentence

1. Harper Lee:

   I can't say that (my reaction) was one of surprise. It was one of sheer numbness. It was like being hit over the head and knocked cold.

2. Ben Carson:

   Without anywhere, anytime surprise inspections, a full accounting of Iran's past secret nuclear arms pursuits, elimination of Iran's uranium stockpiles and the lifting of any sanctions only upon verification of Iranian compliance (means) this is not a good deal, but a recipe for disaster and the first fateful step toward a frenzied nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

3. Chris Yoo:

   BlackRock exploring crypto assets comes as no surprise and is definitely a positive development for the crypto market, as the largest asset manager in the world, its interest in crypto assets could be a catalyst for upward price movement and encourage other asset managers, even with more conservative strategies, to seriously explore investing in the crypto space.

4. Wess Stafford:

   President Bush top security called me and said' this doesn't surprise me coming from President Bush, but if President Bush's going to sponsor this kid, we need to make sure the boy doesn't know who his sponsor is.' So, President Bush signed all President Bush letters to Timothy as' George Walker,'.

5. Eddie Gallagher:

   My first reaction to seeing the videos was surprise and disgust that they would make up blatant lies about me, but I quickly realized that they were scared that the truth would come out of how cowardly they acted on deployment, i felt sorry for them that they thought it necessary to smear my name, but they never realized what the consequences of their lies would be. As upset as I was, the videos also gave me confidence because I knew that their lies would never hold up under real questioning and the jury would see through it. Their lies and( Naval Criminal Investigative Service's) refusal to ask hard questions or corroborate their stories strengthened my resolve to go to trial and clear my name.

Images & Illustrations of surprise

Popularity rank by frequency of use