Surprised
adjectiveFeeling or showing astonishment at something unexpected.
How to spell surprised
9 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce surprised
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does surprised mean?
- adjectiveFeeling or showing astonishment at something unexpected.
Surprised in a sentence
-
She was surprised to find a refund waiting in her account.
-
The manager looked genuinely surprised by the strong sales figures.
Where does surprised come from?
Language of origin: French
This word traces back to the Old French surprendre, meaning 'to overtake' or 'to seize unexpectedly', which was built from sur- 'over, upon' and prendre 'to take', the latter from the Latin prehendere meaning 'to grasp or seize'. The original idea was a military one: to come upon an enemy suddenly and catch them off guard. English adopted the noun and verb in the 1400s, and the sense gradually softened from a literal ambush to the modern feeling of astonishment at something unexpected. The hidden first 'r' that adults so often drop comes directly from that sur- prefix, the same 'over' element seen in surface, surplus, and surrender. Keeping the sur- in mind, as in 'over-taken', is the surest way to remember the spelling.
How the word is built
- sur- (over, upon)
- prise (from prendre: to take/seize)
- -ed (past tense/adjective suffix)
Fix your spelling for good.
Spelling Garden finds the words you personally get wrong, plants them in a garden, and brings each one back just before you would have forgotten it.
Just five minutes a day is all it takes to fix your spelling.