SURPRISED Synonyms: 81 Similar and Opposite Words

surprised 1 of 2

adjective

variants also surprized

Definition of surprised

as in startled

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surprised

2 of 2

verb

variants also surprized

past tense of surprise

as in amazed

to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected I was very surprised when my parents offered to pay the down payment on our house

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in ambushed

to lie in wait for and attack by surprise FBI agents surprised the counterfeiters in their own base of operations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of surprised

Adjective

When Artificial does go wide, audiences may be most surprised to find out that the true lead of Artificial isn’t Garfield’s ambitious Altman but Borisov’s brilliant, sweet oddball Ilya Sutskever. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 6 Oct. 2026 The staffer refused to answer questions but listened, with a surprised expression, as the producer called the mission’s number and played the voicemail greeting in its entirety. — Max Saltman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026

Verb

Norway has really surprised me with the amount of great talent. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026 With airlines weighing carry-ons more and more now, too, even light packers may want to grab one to avoid being surprised with unexpected baggage fees. — Julie Rousseau, Travel + Leisure, 26 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surprised

Recent Examples of Synonyms for surprised

Adjective

Ewart, 43, a fellow opponent of the data center project, was startled to hear that.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026
The startled deputy lets out a scream and races back toward his patrol vehicle.

— Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of startled

Verb

And especially with the stock market—I’m amazed the stock market still hasn’t really taken the hit.

— Victoria Feng, The Atlantic, 19 Sep. 2026
Perhaps what amazed me the most was the breadth and the depth to which a general American public seemed to be at a tipping point around the exorbitant cost of health care and how cavernous the gap is between the one percent and the 99 percent.

— Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of amazed

Verb

However, the night took a turn when Kanye West ambushed Swift’s acceptance speech, creating one of the most infamous moments in the awards show’s history — and subsequently sparking a years-long feud with Swift.

— Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026
Investigators later determined the shooting happened in the area of Pontiac Lake Road and Summit Drive, where the four men were ambushed by several other men armed with assault rifles.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of ambushed

Adjective

This audience listened in awed silence, and by the end of the song, everyone around us was crying as well, before jolting upward in a spontaneous standing ovation — one of three.

— James Gunn, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2026
Maxwell, a fiction editor at The New Yorker, drew upon his own awed discovery of France in 1948; the novel’s opening paragraphs show one of the protagonists weeping at the sight of the French shore.

— Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 28 July 2026

Definition of awed

Verb

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that Ukraine attacked four Russian oil refineries overnight, but air defenses fended off the attacks.

— HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Trust took another nosedive when OpenAI’s agents attacked Hugging Face this summer and, in a world-first, a rogue model hacked the Australian Government’s website.

— Yerbol Orynbayev, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of attacked

Adjective

But Iñárritu’s caricatures become people in a way Kubrick’s don’t; as the bewildered President, for example, John Goodman is simultaneously grounded and theatrical in his presentation, recalling his best work with the Coen brothers.

— Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026
Five o’clock Saturday, the Riverside Stadium and Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg is fist-pumping a half-bewildered but fully enthused home crowd.

— Michael Walker, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of bewildered

Verb

Two weeks later, back in Amsterdam, he was stunned to see another patient with strong similarities.

— Deepa Fernandes, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
Drinkwitz has become emotional when talking about Jones’ condition, stunned that a former high school football and basketball star was in need of life-saving procedures in such a short amount of time.

— PJ Green October 8, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of stunned

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Style

“Surprised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surprised. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of surprised

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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