How to Use surprise in a Sentence

surprise

1 of 2 noun
  • Is the party a surprise?
  • The teacher sprang a surprise on us and gave a pop quiz.
  • The trip was a surprise for her birthday.
  • It's no surprise that he doesn't want to go.
  • What a pleasant surprise to see you!
  • I have a special surprise for the children.
  • He stared at her in surprise.
  • Imagine our surprise when they sold their house and moved to the Bahamas.
  • Is it any surprise that she should feel disappointed?
  • And this may come as a surprise.
    Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2026
  • The sale came as a surprise to many.
    Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
  • There is no surprise in her voice.
    Vogue, 1 June 2026
  • None of this should have been a surprise.
    Jamelle Bouie, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2026
  • But yeah, that was a big surprise to me.
    Emily Longeretta, Variety, 9 Jan. 2026
  • This shouldn’t come as a surprise.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 21 Feb. 2026
  • This can’t be a surprise, right?
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
  • His staff set those up for him as a surprise.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Still, the best surprise was yet to come.
    Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Much to my surprise, the rams didn’t spook.
    Tim Kelly, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2025
  • To his surprise, the pitch worked.
    Chris Almeida, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2025
  • This shouldn’t have come as any sort of surprise.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2026
  • And of course, there will be surprise guests.
    Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 21 June 2026
  • Who would be your surprise pick at 31?
    Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Perhaps none of this should be a surprise.
    Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
  • But then his size took people by surprise.
    Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Learning about the award came as quite a surprise.
    Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
  • That’s why this cobalt is such a pleasant surprise.
    Glamour, 26 Sep. 2025
  • This news doesn't come as a total surprise.
    Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Every day will hold a new surprise!
    Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 27 Mar. 2026
  • What’s more, the new phase was a total surprise.
    Shalma Wegsman, Quanta Magazine, 27 Apr. 2026

surprise

2 of 2 verb
  • The troops were surprised by an attack from the north.
  • The results will surprise you.
  • Nothing you could say would surprise me.
  • A police officer surprised the burglars.
  • They surprised everyone by moving to the Bahamas.
  • No one should be surprised by that.
    Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2026
  • The small size of the bear surprised me.
    Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Which club have surprised me in a bad way?
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • You might be surprised by what comes back.
    Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2026
  • The names on the list don’t surprise me.
    Shep Hyken, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026
  • His new film is bound to surprise fans.
    Marta Balaga, Variety, 16 May 2026
  • The third threat will surprise some.
    Scott Artis, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
  • What surprised you, good or bad?
    Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
  • You shouldn't be surprised by her pick.
    Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026
  • He might have been surprised by what came next.
    Pol Ballús, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2026
  • But the news still surprised her.
    Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Some of these might surprise you!
    Sarah Lyon, Southern Living, 18 Sep. 2025
  • What surprised you most about that win?
    Joseph Person, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
  • We were meant to roll that out and surprise her.
    Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Which team has most surprised you in a good way?
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
  • What surprised you about the team?
    David W. Brown, New Yorker, 24 May 2026
  • This one might surprise you, but hear it out.
    Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Which votes surprised you the most?
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Well, the rate may surprise you.
    Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 8 Feb. 2026
  • That’s the one that surprised him the most.
    Jon MacHota, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • You may be surprised by how much is still out there.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026
  • You’d be surprised how laid-back your work pants can look.
    Kelsey Stiegman, Glamour, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Of all the books on this list, this one surprised me the most.
    Boris Kachka, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2026
  • It’s been a long time since a piece surprised me the way this one did.
    Longreads, 28 July 2023
  • Here's how Trump surprised the world.
    FOXNews.com, 5 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'surprise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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