Another word for surprise
a-z
Verb
To come upon, especially suddenly or unexpectedly
- To come into contact with forcefully; strike:
- To cause to come into contact:
- To deal a blow to:
- To grasp or grip:
- To capture physically; seize:
- To seize with authority or legal right:
- To get and hold (something that has been in motion) in a hand, the hands, a container, or an implement:
- To take hold of, especially forcibly or suddenly; grasp:
- To stop (oneself) from doing an action:
See also:To attack suddenly and without warning
- To lie in wait for and attack from ambush.
- To approach and speak to (a person on the way to a destination or in the middle of an activity):
- To interrupt the course or progress of:
- To force one's way through a forested or overgrown area where no path exists:
- To travel through or live in the woods.
- To fight as a guerrilla in the woods.
- A sudden attack made from a concealed position.
- Those hiding in order to attack by surprise:
- The hiding place used for such an attack:
- An ambush.
- To attack suddenly and without warning from a concealed place; ambush.
See also:To impress strongly by what is unexpected or unusual
- To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start.
- To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly.
- To become alarmed, frightened, or surprised.
- A feeling of respect or reverence mixed with dread and wonder, often inspired by something majestic or powerful:
- The power to inspire dread.
- Dread.
- To astonish and bewilder.
- To fill with sudden wonder or amazement.
- To affect with great wonder; astonish.
- To bewilder; perplex.
- To cause great wonder or astonishment:
Idioms:See also:
© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Another word for surprise
Noun
A feeling of amazement
- A violent collision, impact, or explosion, or the force or movement resulting from this:
- Something that suddenly causes emotional distress:
- A sudden feeling of distress:
- Astonishment, awe, or puzzlement.
- Something that produces wonder; a marvel.
- Great surprise or amazement.
- A cause of amazement; a marvel.
See also:The cause of surprise, sense 1
- A sudden hard stroke or hit, as with the fist or an object.
- An unexpected shock or calamity.
- An unexpected attack; an assault.
Verb
To amaze
- To make a person feel emotionally moved in a pleasant way.
- To move or dislodge with a sudden, hard blow; strike heavily or jarringly:
- To cause to move jerkily:
- To put into a specified condition by or as if by a blow:
- A cylindrical glass or earthenware vessel with a wide mouth and usually no handles.
- The amount that a jar can hold.
- A glass of beer.
- (idiomatic) To overwhelm; to cause to fall to the ground.
- (idiomatic) To overwhelm with astonishment or wonder; to flabbergast
- The surface of a room on which one stands.
- The lower or supporting surface of a structure.
- A story or level of a building.
- To cause to be overcome with astonishment; astound.
- To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt.
- To make confusedly intricate; complicate:
- To stun or bewilder, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy:
- To dazzle, as with strong light.
- A stunned or bewildered condition:
- To dim the vision of, especially to blind with intense light.
- To amaze, overwhelm, or bewilder with spectacular display:
- To become blinded.
- To put at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; bewilder.
- To cause to feel indifferent or bored.
- A state of bewilderment or perplexity.
- To move or stand unsteadily, as if under a great weight; totter.
- To cause to totter, sway, or reel:
- To astonish, shock, or overwhelm:
- To cause (someone) to be unable to think clearly or be sensitive to the surroundings; daze:
- To amaze; astonish:
- To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start.
- To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly.
- To become alarmed, frightened, or surprised.
- To convert (wood or other organic matter) into a stony replica by petrifaction.
- To cause to lose vitality or become impervious to change; deaden:
- To stun or paralyze with terror; daze.
- To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor).
- To wire or equip (a building, for example) for the use of electric power.
- To provide with electric power.
- To daze or render senseless, as by a blow or loud noise.
- To stupefy, as with the emotional impact of an experience; astound.
- A blow or shock that stupefies.
- To change from a settled condition; disrupt:
- To make uneasy; disturb:
- To fill with astonishment and perplexity; confound.
- To surge over and submerge; engulf:
- To defeat completely and decisively:
- To affect deeply in mind or emotion:
- A violent collision, impact, or explosion, or the force or movement resulting from this:
- Something that suddenly causes emotional distress:
- A sudden feeling of distress:
- To cause to become confused or perplexed.
- To fail to distinguish; mix up:
- To make (something bad) worse:
- To confuse or befuddle, especially by being complicated or varied.
- To cause to lose one's bearings; disorient:
- To affect with great wonder; astonish.
- To bewilder; perplex.
- To cause great wonder or astonishment:
- To astonish and bewilder.
- To fill with sudden wonder or amazement.
To take unaware
- To seize (a fugitive or wrongdoer); arrest.
- To grab; snatch.
- To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start.
- To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly.
- To become alarmed, frightened, or surprised.
See also:
Idioms:
take by surprise
Synonym Study
- Flabbergast is a colloquial term suggesting an astounding to the point of speechlessness
- Astound suggests such a shocking surprise that one is left helpless to act or think I was astounded by the proposal
- Amaze suggests an astonishing that causes bewilderment or confusion amazed at the sudden turn of events
- Astonish implies a surprising with something that seems unbelievable to astonish with sleight of hand
- Surprise implies an affecting with wonder because of being unexpected, unusual, etc. I'm surprised at your concern
© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
