Definition of surprise verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

surprise

verb

/səˈpraɪz/

/sərˈpraɪz/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they surprise	/səˈpraɪz/ /sərˈpraɪz/
he / she / it surprises	/səˈpraɪzɪz/ /sərˈpraɪzɪz/
past simple surprised	/səˈpraɪzd/ /sərˈpraɪzd/
past participle surprised	/səˈpraɪzd/ /sərˈpraɪzd/
-ing form surprising	/səˈpraɪzɪŋ/ /sərˈpraɪzɪŋ/

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to make somebody feel surprised
- surprise somebody It wouldn't surprise me if they got married soon.
- surprise somebody how, what It's always surprised me how popular he is.
- it surprises somebody that… It surprises me that you've never sung professionally.
- It will surprise no one to hear that the aubergine is my favourite vegetable.
- it surprises somebody to do something Would it surprise you to know that I'm thinking of leaving?
Synonyms surprise
surprisestartle ▪ amaze ▪ stun ▪ astonish ▪ take somebody aback ▪ astoundThese words all mean to make somebody feel surprised.
surprise to give somebody the feeling that you get when something happens that you do not expect or do not understand, or something that you do expect does not happen; to make somebody feel surprised:
The outcome didn’t surprise me at all.
startle to surprise somebody suddenly in a way that slightly shocks or frightens them:
Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.
The explosion startled the horse.
amaze to surprise somebody very much:
Just the huge size of the place amazed her.
stun (rather informal) (often in newspapers) to surprise or shock somebody so much that they cannot think clearly or speakastonish to surprise somebody very much:
The news astonished everyone.
amaze or astonish?These two words have the same meaning and in most cases you can use either. If you are talking about something that both surprises you and makes you feel ashamed, use astonish: He was astonished by his own stupidity.
take somebody aback [usually passive] (especially of something negative) to surprise or shock somebody:
We were rather taken aback by her hostile reaction.
astound to surprise or shock somebody very much:
His arrogance astounded her.
Patterns
- It surprises somebody/startles somebody/amazes somebody/stuns somebody/astonishes somebody/takes somebody aback/astounds somebody
- to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody that…
- to surprise/amaze somebody what/how…
- to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody to know/find/learn/see/hear…
- to be surprised/startled/stunned into (doing) something
Extra Examples
- The outcome did not surprise me at all.
- They wanted to surprise their mother and get the breakfast ready.
Topics Feelingsa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- greatly
- really
- not at all
- …
verb + surprise
- wouldn’t
- seem to
- want to
- …
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surprise somebody to attack, discover, etc., somebody suddenly and unexpectedly
- The army attacked at night to surprise the rebels.
- We arrived home early and surprised a burglar trying to break in.

Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘unexpected seizure of a place, or attack on troops’): from Old French, feminine past participle of surprendre, from medieval Latin superprehendere ‘seize’.

See surprise in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee surprise in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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