surprise, astonish, astound, amaze, flabbergast mean to impress forcibly through unexpectedness. surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.

SURPRISE definition: to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness. See examples of surprise used in a sentence.

1. to strike with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, esp. by being unexpected. 2. to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly. 3. to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, …

SURPRISE definition: 1. an unexpected event: 2. the feeling caused by something unexpected happening: 3. to make…. Learn more.

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[countable] an event, a piece of news, etc. that is unexpected or that happens suddenly. What a nice surprise! I have a surprise for you! There are few surprises in this year's budget. It comes as no …

Feb 16, 2026 · surprise (third-person singular simple present surprises, present participle surprising, simple past and past participle surprised) (transitive) To cause (someone) to feel unusually alarmed …

Surprise definition: To cause to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something unanticipated.

A surprise is an unexpected event, fact, or piece of news. I have a surprise for you: We are moving to Switzerland!

SURPRISE meaning: 1 : an unexpected event, piece of information, etc.; 2 : an unexpected gift, party, etc.