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Surprise

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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

surprise¹

  • /sə(ː)ˈpɹaɪ̯z/ UK
  • /sɚˈpɹaɪ̯z/
  • /səˈpɹaɪ̯z/
  • /sɚˈpɹaːz/
  • /səˈpɹaːz/
  • /sə(ː)ˈpɹɑ̟ɪ̯z/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /sə(ː)ˈpɹɒ̈ɪ̯z/ Australia, New Zealand
  • /sə(r)ˈprajs/ South Asia
  • /ˈsɜ(r)ˌprajs/ South Asia

Rhymes with -aɪz

Where it comes from

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.

noun surprises · surprize · suprise

  1. countable, uncountable Something unexpected. It was a surprise to find out I owed twice as much as I thought.
  2. countable, uncountable A mess of feces, left by a pet or small child in an unexpected place or at an unexpected time. After the housecleaners drove off, the cat left a surprise for us on the carpet.
  3. countable, uncountable The feeling that something unexpected has happened. Imagine my surprise on learning I owed twice as much as I thought I did.

Similar: more than one bargained for, unexpected, give one a start, amazement, awe, bewilderment, flabbergast, flabbergastation, flabbergastment, shock, stupefaction, surprise

verb surprises · surprising · surprised · surprize · suprise

  1. transitive To cause (someone) to feel unusually alarmed or delighted by something unexpected. It surprises me that I owe twice as much as I thought I did.
  2. transitive To do something to (a person) that they are not expecting, as a surprise. He doesn’t know that I’m in the country – I thought I’d turn up at his house and surprise him.
  3. intransitive To undergo or witness something unexpected. He doesn’t surprise easily.
  4. intransitive To cause surprise.
  5. transitive To attack unexpectedly.
  6. transitive To take unawares. I surprised a raccoon scavenging through the garbage last night.

interjection surprize · suprise

  1. Drawing attention to a surprising action by oneself. "Surprise!" we shouted as we jumped out from the cupboard. "Happy birthday!"
  2. sarcastic Drawing attention to something that should have been obvious. When we add code modules, we will have an additional folder called (surprise!) Modules.

Surprise²

proper noun

  1. A city in Maricopa County, Arizona, the largest place with this name.
  2. An unincorporated community in Jackson County, Indiana.
  3. A village in Butler County, Nebraska.
  4. A populated place in Greene County, New York.
  5. Former name of Surprise Station, California.

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