surprise
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /səˈpɹaɪz/
enpr: sərprīzʹ
ipa: /sɚˈpɹaɪz/
note: General American, r-dissimilation
enpr: səprīzʹ
ipa: /səˈpɹaɪz/
note: General American, r-dissimilation
note: Indic
ipa: /sə(r)ˈprajs/
note: spelling pronunciation
ipa: /ˈsɜ(r)ˌprajs/
rhymes: -aɪz
Forms: form: surprises
form: surprize
Etymology: From Middle English surprise, borrowed from Middle French surprise (“an overtake”), nominal use of the past participle of Old French sorprendre (“to overtake”), from sor- (“over”) + prendre (“to take”), from Latin super- + Latin prendere, contracted from prehendere (“to grasp, seize”). Doublet of suppli.
Senses: examples: text: It was a surprise to find out I owed twice as much as I thought.
text: It came as a surprise when he succeed.
text: England were graphically illustrating the huge gulf in class between the sides and it was no surprise when Lampard added the second just before the half hour. Steven Gerrard found his Liverpool team-mate Glen Johnson and Lampard arrived in the area with perfect timing to glide a header beyond Namasco.
ref: 2012 September 7, Phil McNulty, “Moldova 0-5 England”, in BBC Sport:
text: They had begun brightly but the opening goal was such a blow to their confidence it almost came as a surprise when Walcott, running through the inside-right channel, beat the offside trap and, checking back on to his left foot, turned a low shot beyond Allan McGregor in the Scotland goal.
ref: 2013 August 14, Daniel Taylor, “Rickie Lambert’s debut goal gives England victory over Scotland”, in The Guardian:
text: Surprise! - A party! Awesome!
ref: 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
text: She bought the model as a surprise gift for a friend who is a lifelong HST fan and railwayman, and who will soon be celebrating a milestone birthday.
ref: 2021 October 20, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 942, page 71:
glosses: Something unexpected.
examples: text: After the housecleaners drove off, the cat left a surprise for us on the carpet.
glosses: Something unexpected.
A mess of feces, left by a pet or small child in an unexpected place or at an unexpected time.
examples: text: Imagine my surprise on learning I owed twice as much as I thought I did.
text: The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen.[…]The second note, the high alarum, not so familiar and always important since it indicates the paramount sin in Man’s private calendar, took most of them by surprise although they had been well prepared.
ref: 1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249:
glosses: The feeling that something unexpected has happened.
Synonyms: sense: something unexpected
word: more than one bargained for
sense: attributively: unexpected
word: unexpected
sense: feeling
word: astonishment
sense: start
word: give one a start
word: amazement
word: awe
word: bewilderment
word: flabbergast
word: flabbergastation
word: flabbergastment
word: shock
word: stupefaction
word: surprise
Derived terms: come as no surprise
element of surprise
October surprise
principle of least surprise
quel surprise
surpriseful
surpriseless
surprise lily
surprise party
surprise surprise
surprise test paradox
take by surprise
tomato surprise
Related terms: word: quelle surprise
word: surprising