The Surprising History Ofdecember

causing surprise; unexpected or amazing sur•pris•ing /sɚˈpraɪzɪŋ, sə-/USA pronunciation adj. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- causing a feeling of surprise:A surprising number of students showed up for the lecture.[It + be + ~ + that clause]It was surprising that so many students showed up for the lecture. sur•pris•ing (sər prī′zing, sə-),USA pronunciation adj. sur•pris′ing•ly, adv. - causing surprise, wonder, or astonishment. - unexpected.

surprise + -ing2 1570–80 Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: surprising /səˈpraɪzɪŋ/ adj sur•prise /sɚˈpraɪz, sə-/USA pronunciation v., -prised, -pris•ing, n. v. n. See -pris-. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026v. - to strike with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, esp. by being unexpected: [~ + object]Those sales figures surprised me![It + ~ + object + that clause]It surprised me that we had lost so much during the last quarter.

to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly:[~ + object]When her father came home early he surprised the young couple on the couch. - to make an unexpected attack or assault on (an unprepared army, etc.):[~ + object]At dawn the regiment surprised the enemy in their barracks. n. - the state of being surprised, esp. at something unexpected:[uncountable]filled with surprise at the sheer size of the house. - something that surprises:[countable]She likes surprises for her birthday.

an act or instance of surprising:[uncountable]Perhaps the element of surprise gave us the victory. - Idioms take (someone) by surprise, [take + object + by + ~] - to come upon without warning or unexpectedly:Our regiment took the fort by surprise. - to astonish; amaze:Her low grades in college took her parents by surprise, because she had always done well in high school. See -pris-. sur•prise (sər prīz′, sə-),USA pronunciation v., -prised, -pris•ing, n. v.t. n. sur•pris•ed•ly (sər prī′zid lē, -prīzd′-, sə-),USA pronunciation adv. sur•pris′er, n. v.t.

to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness:Her beauty surprised me. - to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly:We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar. - to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.). - to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning:to surprise the facts from the witness. - to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended:to surprise a witness into telling the truth. n.

an act or instance of surprising or being surprised. - something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement:His announcement was a surprise to all. - an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning. - a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares. - take by surprise: - to come upon unawares. - to astonish; amaze:The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise. - Anglo-French surpris(e) (past participle), Middle French, as above - Latin prēnsus, -sa, equivalent.

to prēnd(ere), contracted variant of prehendere to take (see prehension) + -tus, -ta past participle suffix; (verb, verbal) late Middle English surprisen - Anglo-French surpris(e), Middle French, past participle of surprendre, equivalent. to sur- sur-1 + pris (masculine), prise (feminine) - (noun, nominal) late Middle English 1425–75 - 1. Surprise, astonish, amaze, astound mean to strike with wonder because of unexpectedness, strangeness, unusualness, etc.

To surprise is to take unawares or to affect with wonder:surprised at receiving a telegram.To astonish is to strike with wonder by something unlooked for, startling, or seemingly inexplicable:astonished at someone's behavior.To amaze is to astonish so greatly as to disconcert or bewilder:amazed at such an evidence of stupidity.To astound is to so overwhelm with surprise that one is unable to think or act:astounded by the news.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: surprise /səˈpraɪz/ vb (transitive) - to cause to feel amazement or wonder - to encounter or discover unexpectedly or suddenly - to capture or assault suddenly and without warning - to present with something unexpected, such as a gift - (followed by into) to provoke (someone) to unintended action by a trick, etc - (often followed by from) to elicit by unexpected behaviour or by a trick: to surprise information from a prisoner - the act or an instance of surprising; the act of taking unawares - a sudden or unexpected event, gift, etc - the feeling or condition of being surprised; astonishment - (modifier) causing, characterized by, or relying upon surprise: a surprise move - take by surprise ⇒ - to come upon suddenly and without warning - to capture unexpectedly or catch unprepared - to astonish; amaze 'surprising' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations): biscuit - boilover - caution - extraordinary - miraculous - O.

Henry - revelation - start - strange - surprise - unexpected - apparition - asinine - astounding - broom - coup de théâtre - flaunt - fun house - hardly - kicker - learn - marvel - marvelous - vengeance - wonder - sight - stratagem - surprisal

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