Library / English Dictionary

SURPRISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of surprising someone

Synonyms:

surprisal; surprise

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("surprise" is a kind of...):

disruption; perturbation (the act of causing disorder)

Derivation:

surprise (cause to be surprised)

surprise (come upon or take unawares)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A sudden unexpected event

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("surprise" is a kind of...):

alteration; change; modification (an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "surprise"):

bombshell; thunderbolt; thunderclap (a shocking surprise)

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))

blow; shock (an unpleasant or disappointing surprise)

stunner (an unexpected and amazing event)

Derivation:

surprise (cause to be surprised)

surprise (attack by storm; attack suddenly)

surprise (come upon or take unawares)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Hypernyms ("surprise" is a kind of...):

amazement; astonishment (the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising)

Derivation:

surprise (cause to be surprised)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to be surprised

Example:

The news really surprised me

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "surprise" is one way to...):

affect; impress; move; strike (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "surprise"):

amaze; astonish; astound (affect with wonder)

explode a bombshell (utter or do something surprising)

catch (discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state)

boggle; bowl over; flabbergast (overcome with amazement)

ball over; blow out of the water; floor; shock; take aback (surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

The bad news will surprise him

The good news will surprise her

Derivation:

surprisal; surprise (the act of surprising someone)

surprise (a sudden unexpected event)

surprise (the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Attack by storm; attack suddenly

Synonyms:

storm; surprise

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "surprise" is one way to...):

assail; attack (launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

surprise (a sudden unexpected event)

surpriser (a captor who uses surprise to capture the victim)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Come upon or take unawares

Example:

He surprised an interesting scene

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "surprise" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "surprise"):

blindside (catch unawares, especially with harmful consequences)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot surprise Sue

Derivation:

surprisal; surprise (the act of surprising someone)

surprise (a sudden unexpected event)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He is a clever man, a reading man; and I confess, that I do consider his attaching himself to her with some surprise.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

He whistled to himself, softly, first with surprise, and then, at the end, with admiration.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Ay, the white lamb, she might well be surprised when she read death on a face that had seldom looked anything but love upon her before.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You can imagine my surprise when I found that there was no one there.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Mr. Utterson was sitting by his fireside one evening after dinner, when he was surprised to receive a visit from Poole.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

And this the more surprised me, for I thought he had never shown himself so cunning as he did then.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

She uttered some words in a loud voice, and the youth joined her, who also expressed surprise.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

But researchers were surprised to find the opposite to be true.

(‘Messy’ production of perovskite material increases solar cell efficiency, University of Cambridge)

“How is that?” asked my uncle, in surprise.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Indeed, of all the things which he had seen yet in the world to surprise him there was none more strange than the hate which class appeared to bear to class.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)