surprising
gb/səpɹˈaɪzɪŋ/ us/səpɹˈaɪzɪŋ/
B1
English
~ 2500
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B1
property
1
causing shock or amazement
Making someone feel shocked or amazed because it is not what they thought would happen.
Usage pattern:
[something] is surprising
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'surprising' (describes the thing) with 'surprised' (describes the person). For example, 'I am surprising' is incorrect when you mean 'I am surprised'.
Synonyms
astonishing (Slightly stronger and more formal than 'surprising', often used for remarkable events.)
|
unexpected (Focuses on the fact that something was not predicted, without necessarily implying amazement.)
Antonyms
unsurprising (Direct opposite, meaning something is expected and not shocking.)
|
predictable (Implies that the outcome was easy to guess and held no surprise.)
Collocations
quite surprising
|really surprising
|surprising result
|surprising fact
|surprising news
Themes
emotions
|communication
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- It’s surprising how quickly the weather can change here.
- The results of the study were surprising to many experts.
- I found it surprising that she didn’t enjoy the movie.
- His sudden decision to quit was quite surprising.
- The most surprising part of the trip was meeting an old friend.
Learner examples
- It is surprising to see snow in April.
- The game had a surprising ending.
- Her answer was surprising to me.
- It was surprising that he spoke Japanese.
- The news this morning was surprising.
Grammar
Dictionary form
surprising
IPA
GB/səpɹˈaɪzɪŋ/
US/səpɹˈaɪzɪŋ/
Syllables & stress
sur - pris - ing (3 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (pris)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: surprising
Word family
Core family
Negative and opposite forms
unsurprising
adjective
unsurprisingly
adverb
unsurprised
adjective
Expressions
it’s not surprising that
1/ˈɪts nˈɑt səpɹˈaɪzɪŋ ðˈæt/
fixed phrase
something is expected or understandable
Used to say that something is normal or easy to understand in the situation.
Examples
- It’s not surprising that he’s tired after working all night.
- Given the heavy rain, it’s not surprising that the match was canceled.
not entirely surprising
1/nˈɑt ɪntˈaɪɚli səpɹˈaɪzɪŋ/
fixed phrase
partly expected outcome
Used to say that something is not fully unexpected.
Examples
- His reaction was not entirely surprising given the circumstances.
- It’s not entirely surprising that sales dropped after the price increase.
what’s surprising is
1/wˈʌts səpɹˈaɪzɪŋ ˈɪz/
fixed phrase
introducing unexpected detail
Used to show the part of a situation that is most unexpected.
Examples
- What’s surprising is how calm she stayed during the crisis.
- What’s surprising is that no one else noticed the mistake.