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surprise

/səˈpɹaɪz/

noun

Meaning

  • Something unexpected.

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

  • The feeling that something unexpected has happened.

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

  • A dish covered with a crust of raised pastry, but with no other contents.

Synonyms

unexpected,
astonishment,
more than one bargained for

verb

Meaning

  • To cause (someone) to feel unusually alarmed or delighted by something unexpected.

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

  • 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."

  • To undergo or witness something unexpected.

    "He doesn’t surprise easily."

  • To cause surprise.

  • To attack unexpectedly.

  • To take unawares.

Synonyms

overtake