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| sur·prise [ sər prz ] |
transitive verb (past and past participle sur·prised, present participle sur·pris·ing, 3rd person present singular sur·pris·es) |
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| Definition: |
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1. make somebody amazed: to cause somebody to feel sudden wonder or amazement, especially at something unexpected
(
often passive
)
  I'm surprised that nobody's thought of this before.
It doesn't really surprise me that nobody accepted the offer.
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2. catch somebody or something unaware: to attack, come upon, or catch somebody or something unexpectedly
I surprised a huge raccoon going through the garbage last night.
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3. give somebody something unexpectedly: to make an unexpected gift to somebody
surprised me with flowers
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4. trick somebody into doing something: to cause somebody to do something, especially to admit something, unexpected by trickery or deceit
Her boss surprised her into admitting she left work early every day.
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noun (plural sur·pris·es) |
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| Definition: |
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1. amazement: a feeling of shock, wonder, or bewilderment produced by an unexpected event
Imagine my surprise when she told me she was already married.
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2. something unexpected: something that produces a feeling of surprise, especially an unexpected event or gift
(
often used before a noun
)
He told me he had a surprise for me, but I haven't seen it yet.
a surprise visit
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3. ability to cause surprise: the fact of happening unexpectedly or the ability to take somebody unawares
We don't want to lose the element of surprise.
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| [15th century. < French, past participle of surprendre "overtake" < sur- "over" + Latin prehendere "seize"] |
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| sur·prised adjective |
| sur·pris·er noun |
| sur·pris·ing adjective |
| sur·pris·ing·ly adverb |
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surprise, surprise!
1. used when making a surprise announcement or presenting something that is supposed to be a surprise
2. used ironically to suggest that something is anything but unexpected
Well, surprise, surprise, the weather forecasters got it wrong again.
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take somebody by surprise to happen unexpectedly to somebody
Their arrival took everybody by surprise.
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