surprise: Meaning and Definition of

sur•prise

Pronunciation: (sur-prīz', su-), [key]
— v., n. -prised, -pris•ing,
—v.t.
  1. to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
  2. to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.
  3. to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.).
  4. to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning: to surprise the facts from the witness.
  5. to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended: to surprise a witness into telling the truth.
—n.
  1. an act or instance of surprising or being surprised.
  2. something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement: His announcement was a surprise to all.
  3. an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning.
  4. a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares.
  5. The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise.
    1. to come upon unawares.
    2. to astonish; amaze:The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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