Synonyms for surprise
sərˈpraɪz, sə-sur·prise

Wiktionary(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. surprisenoun

   To undergo or witness something unexpected.

   He doesn't surprise easily.

   Synonyms:
   astonishment

2. surpriseverb

   To cause surprise.

   Synonyms:
   unexpected

English Synonyms and Antonyms(4.60 / 5 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. surprise

   Amazement and astonishment both express the momentary overwhelming of the mind by that which is beyond expectation. Astonishment especially affects the emotions, amazement the intellect. Awe is the yielding of the mind to something supremely grand in character or formidable in power, and ranges from apprehension or dread to reverent worship. Admiration includes delight and regard. Surprise lies midway between astonishment and amazement, and usually respects matters of lighter consequence or such as are less startling in character. Amazement may be either pleasing or painful, as when induced by the grandeur of the mountains, or by the fury of the storm. We can say pleased surprise, but scarcely pleased astonishment. Amazement has in it something of confusion or bewilderment; but confusion and bewilderment may occur without amazement, as when a multitude of details require instant attention. Astonishment may be without bewilderment or confusion. Wonder is often pleasing, and may be continuous in view of that which surpasses our comprehension; as, the magnitude, order, and beauty of the heavens fill us with increasing wonder. Compare PERPLEXITY.

   Synonyms:
   admiration, amazement, astonishment, awe, bewilderment, confusion, perplexity, wonder

   Antonyms:
   anticipation, calmness, composure, coolness, expectation, indifference, preparation, self-possession, steadiness, stoicism

   Preposition:
   I was filled with amazement at such reckless daring.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms(3.33 / 12 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. surprise

   Synonyms:
   startle, astonish, alarm, amaze, confuse

   Antonyms:
   prepare, premonish, forewarn

Princeton's WordNet(2.25 / 4 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. surprisenoun

   the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you

   Synonyms:
   surprisal

2. surprisenoun

   a sudden unexpected event

   Synonyms:
   surprisal

3. surprise, surprisalverb

   the act of surprising someone

   Synonyms:
   surprisal

4. surpriseverb

   cause to be surprised

   "The news really surprised me"

   Synonyms:
   storm

5. surpriseverb

   come upon or take unawares

   "She surprised the couple"; "He surprised an interesting scene"

   Synonyms:
   storm

6. storm, surpriseverb

   attack by storm; attack suddenly

   Synonyms:
   rage, force, ramp, storm

Matched Categories

1. • Act
   • Affect
   • Astonishment
   • Attack
   • Change

Editors Contribution(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. lawks

   Submitted by anonymous on December 20, 2020  

2. unexpected gift

   an unexpected gift

   the surprise was a brand new phone

   Submitted by allisonmariegraham27 on April 9, 2019  

Dictionary of English Synonymes(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. surprisenoun

   Synonyms:
   wonder, astonishment, amazement, admiration

2. surpriseverb

   Synonyms:
   take unawares, take by surprise, take off one's guard

3. surpriseverb

   Synonyms:
   astonish, amaze, startle, strike with wonder, take aback

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words(2.33 / 3 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. surprisenoun

   Synonyms:
   amazement, astonishment

2. surpriseverb

   Synonyms:
   amaze, astonish, astound

PPDB, the paraphrase database(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "surprise":

   surprised, astonishment, sudden, amazement, surprises, surprlse, -surprise, short-notice, amaze, unexpected, wonder, surprising, blitz, stuns

How to pronounce surprise?

How to say surprise in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use surprise in a sentence?

1. Joanne Hsu:

   This share has only been exceeded once since 1981, during the Great Recession, overall, gas prices weighed heavily on consumers, which was no surprise given the 65-cent increase in national gas prices from last month.

2. Michele Gesualdi:

   This is really the survival of the fittest environment, this year, European funds might surprise people in terms of generating returns.

3. Jon Favreau:

   There are lots of surprises in the show. Part of what is fun about doing eight episodes is that each one could have a surprise and twist.

4. Bode Miller:

   After losing Emmy, we both felt like we wanted to try for a girl. You know, there's obviously no replacing kids, all of ours are so unique that it's always a surprise, but then we had the identical twin boys [in 2019] and we were kind of like, 'Whoa, maybe, maybe that's the end for us.’.

5. Marc Schuckit:

   The first was a surprise to me, that is if you’re female.