surprised 1 of 2

adjective

variants also surprized
Definition of surprisednext
as in startled

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surprised

2 of 2

verb

variants also surprized
past tense of surprise
1
as in amazed
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected I was very surprised when my parents offered to pay the down payment on our house

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in ambushed
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise FBI agents surprised the counterfeiters in their own base of operations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surprised
Adjective
His guests are often surprised to discover that the three-story stucco house was conceived in the Art Deco style. — Sarah Medford, Architectural Digest, 14 Oct. 2026 The warrants in Fulton and Riverside did us a favor because there are very few judges anywhere who are going to be surprised right now. — Justin Levitt, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026
Verb
The show doesn’t spare her discomfort, but what surprised her most was how gentle cooking for chefs turned out to be. — Elissa Suh, Bon Appetit Magazine, 13 Oct. 2026 As someone who covers this stuff for a living, were there revelations in Artificial that actually surprised you? — Julia Black, Vanity Fair, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surprised
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surprised
  1. startled
  2. amazed
  3. ambushed
  4. awed
  5. shocked
  6. attacked
  7. bewildered
  8. stunned
Adjective
  • In the past, horses have collapsed, gotten startled and run off, hitting cars or other objects, with each accident resulting in fresh calls for a ban.
    — Anthony Izaguirre, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Ewart, 43, a fellow opponent of the data center project, was startled to hear that.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of startled
Verb
  • Larry remarks, amazed all these years later by this odd before-they-were-stars encounter.
    — Blake J. Harris, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • And especially with the stock market—I’m amazed the stock market still hasn’t really taken the hit.
    — Victoria Feng, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of amazed
Verb
  • Jackson Chourio ambushed Blake Snell’s first pitch of the night for a leadoff blast, and Robert Gasser protected the lead with five shutout frames.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Shot in the Canary Islands, Doom Scroll watches as a family’s Passover Seder is ambushed by intruders hungry for revenge, viral fame and power.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of ambushed
Adjective
  • This audience listened in awed silence, and by the end of the song, everyone around us was crying as well, before jolting upward in a spontaneous standing ovation — one of three.
    — James Gunn, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Maxwell, a fiction editor at The New Yorker, drew upon his own awed discovery of France in 1948; the novel’s opening paragraphs show one of the protagonists weeping at the sight of the French shore.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026
Definition of awed
Verb
  • His daughter, Leslie Gonzalez, wrote that her father was shocked with a Taser twice and pinned to the ground before being taken to the hospital for serious injuries.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The news of the cancer diagnosis on Tuesday shocked people inside the Vatican and across the Catholic world, given the pope was known for being in good physical shape.
    — Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of shocked
Verb
  • Authorities said John had been a special needs student at the school and had attacked a classroom with special needs students.
    — HAVEN DALEY, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • On Friday, settlers attacked the village as residents, accompanied by peace activists, set out early for the harvest.
    — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacked
Adjective
  • What appears before the bewildered trio is a boy with a face resembling a frog’s, named Fūsuke.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 10 Oct. 2026
  • But Iñárritu’s caricatures become people in a way Kubrick’s don’t; as the bewildered President, for example, John Goodman is simultaneously grounded and theatrical in his presentation, recalling his best work with the Coen brothers.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of bewildered
Verb
  • An Oklahoma copper theft suspect stunned a deputy with a headfirst dive through a closed window, but overlooked one detail that helped deputies track him down.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
  • But these three diffuse galaxies, known as DF2, DF4, and DF9, have left astronomers stunned.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of stunned

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surprised
surprises
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Cite this Entry

“Surprised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surprised. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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