surprisingly

adverb

sur·​pris·​ing·​ly sər-ˈprī-ziŋ-lē How to pronounce surprisingly (audio)
sə-
Synonyms of surprisinglynext
1
: in a surprising manner : to a surprising degree
a surprisingly fast runner
2
: it is surprising that
surprisingly, voter turnout was high

Examples of surprisingly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The propeller hat has become a signature look for the pig — a 4-year-old Vietnamese potbelly named Merlin — who has more than 1 million followers on Instagram, a surprisingly hefty vocabulary and a Guinness World Record. Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 5 Apr. 2026 While this sounds abstract, the physical consequence is surprisingly clear. Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 4 Apr. 2026 The Yankees were also aggressive by taking extra bases on Friday, as Austin Wells surprisingly and successfully tagged up from second when Ryan McMahon lofted a flyball to left in the sixth inning. Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2026 Underwood surprisingly played along with the joke in November, dressing up in an orange jumpsuit and jaunty cap on the team’s trip to New York to play Connecticut at Madison Square Garden. Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surprisingly

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of surprisingly was in 1661

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Cite this Entry

“Surprisingly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surprisingly. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.

Kids Definition

surprisingly

adverb
sur·​pris·​ing·​ly -lē How to pronounce surprisingly (audio)
1
: in a surprising manner : to a surprising degree
a surprisingly fast runner
2
: it is surprising that
surprisingly, no one disagreed

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