surprising

adjective

sur·​pris·​ing sər-ˈprī-ziŋ How to pronounce surprising (audio)
sə-
: of a nature that excites surprise

Examples of surprising in a Sentence

It's not surprising that he doesn't want to go. The changes to the campus were surprising. He shows a surprising lack of concern for others. A surprising number of people were laid off at the factory.
Recent Examples on the Web America’s employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in February, adding a surprising 275,000 jobs and again showcasing the U.S. economy’s resilience in the face of high interest rates. Paul Wiseman, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2024 America's employers delivered another healthy month of hiring in February, adding a surprising 275,000 jobs and again showcasing the U.S. economy's resilience in the face of high interest rates. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 9 Mar. 2024 But both filmmakers took their source material in bold, utterly surprising directions, gambling that audiences would connect with their deeply personal and often idiosyncratic visions. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Those trade curbs pushed Huawei and SMIC to pursue avenues for building a domestic chip supply chain, and the Mate 60 Pro marked a surprising advance in that effort. Cagan Koc, Fortune Asia, 8 Mar. 2024 The concept of sublimated despair is a pillar of contemporary television, but the show’s surrealism is fresh and surprising — made even more so by the sense of creeping sameness of so many other shows right now. Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Simone Biles shared a surprising fact about herself while hyping up Kortnee Solomon, a young girl who made history as the first Black cowgirl to compete on TV in 2021. Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 The surprising Wolverines are finally healthy and surging. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Carney’s response to May v. Bonta, a lawsuit challenging S.B. 2, was not surprising. Jacob Sullum, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of surprising was in 1614

Dictionary Entries Near surprising

Cite this Entry

“Surprising.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surprising. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

surprising

adjective
sur·​pris·​ing
sə(r)-ˈprī-ziŋ
: causing surprise : amazing

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