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Surprise   /sərprˈaɪz/  /səprˈaɪz/   Listen
noun
Surprise  n.  
1.
The act of coming upon, or taking, unawares; the act of seizing unexpectedly; surprisal; as, the fort was taken by surprise.
2.
The state of being surprised, or taken unawares, by some act or event which could not reasonably be foreseen; emotion excited by what is sudden and strange; a suddenly excited feeling of wonder or astonishment. "Pure surprise and fear Made me to quit the house."
3.
Anything that causes such a state or emotion.
4.
A dish covered with a crust of raised paste, but with no other contents. (Obs.)
Surprise party, a party of persons who assemble by mutual agreement, and without invitation, at the house of a common friend. (U.S.)
Synonyms: Wonder; astonishment; amazement.


verb
Surprise  v. t.  (past & past part. surprised; pres. part. surprising)  
1.
To come or fall suddenly and unexpectedly; to take unawares; to seize or capture by unexpected attack. "Fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites." "The castle of Macduff I will surprise." "Who can speak The mingled passions that surprised his heart?"
2.
To strike with wonder, astonishment, or confusion, by something sudden, unexpected, or remarkable; to confound; as, his conduct surprised me. "I am surprised with an uncouth fear." "Up he starts, Discovered and surprised."
3.
To lead (one) to do suddenly and without forethought; to bring (one) into some unexpected state; with into; as, to be surprised into an indiscretion; to be surprised into generosity.
4.
To hold possession of; to hold. (Obs.) "Not with me, That in my hands surprise the sovereignity."
Synonyms: See Astonish.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Surprise" Quotes from Famous Books



... the second and last day of my sojourn in Quebec I went to the parade, escorted by Colonels Durnford and Duchesnay. I was pleasantly taken by surprise when I found the whole garrison under arms. The commanding officers wished to show me their corps. On the right wing stood two companies of artillery, then a company of sappers and miners, after this, the Sixty-Eighth, and lastly, the Seventy-First Regiment ...
— Picturesque Quebec • James MacPherson Le Moine
... boys, and no more trees to saw." And so they steamed on, thinking how neatly they should take the "gray-coats" in the rear, when suddenly a bend in the river showed them, just ahead, a fort in the middle of the river, with the channel blocked on either side. That was a surprise. The works were new, and the water was still muddy about the sunken steamers. Clearly the wily Pemberton had heard of this inland naval expedition, and was ...
— The Naval History of the United States - Volume 2 (of 2) • Willis J. Abbot
... He looked at my costume and the pistols on my belt in well-bred concealment of surprise. "I'm your military attache, ...
— Lone Star Planet • Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire
... ordinary tones, and when Tom had shouted so loudly, they did not stop to reason about or explain just then. But later they both admitted that they whispered because they thought there was something wrong on foot—because they feared a crime was being committed and they wanted to surprise the perpetrators ...
— Tom Swift and his Air Scout - or, Uncle Sam's Mastery of the Sky • Victor Appleton
... name for his Marionette, Geppetto set seriously to work to make the hair, the forehead, the eyes. Fancy his surprise when he noticed that these eyes moved and then stared fixedly at him. Geppetto, seeing this, felt insulted and ...
— The Adventures of Pinocchio • C. Collodi--Pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini


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