sur ‧ prised S2 W2 /səˈpraɪzd $ sər-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ surprised , ↑ surprising ≠ ↑ unsurprising ; verb : ↑ surprise ; noun : ↑ surprise ; adverb : ↑ surprisingly ≠ ↑ unsurprisingly ]
having a feeling of surprise:
He looked surprised to see Cassie standing by the front door.
surprised at/by
We were greatly surprised at the news.
surprised (that)
She was surprised that no one was there to greet her.
surprised to see/hear/learn etc
I bet she’ll be really surprised to see me.
He had a surprised look on his face.
Don’t be surprised if the interviewer is rather direct.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she married that fellow.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ very/really surprised
I would be very surprised if that was the case.
▪ quite surprised
I was quite surprised at his reaction.
▪ a little/somewhat/slightly surprised
He was a little surprised by her request.
▪ mildly surprised (=slightly surprised)
He looked mildly surprised by the question.
▪ pleasantly surprised (=when someone has a pleasant surprise)
You will probably be pleasantly surprised at the amount of food you are allowed to eat on this diet.
▪ genuinely surprised
‘Me?’ Theodora seemed genuinely surprised.
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THESAURUS
▪ surprised having the feeling you get when something happens that you did not expect:
I was surprised to see her again so soon.
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I’m really surprised that he remembered my birthday.
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Nobody was surprised when they split up.
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a surprised expression
▪ amazed [not before noun] extremely surprised, especially by something good or by something that seems hard to believe:
I’m amazed that he survived.
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You’ll be amazed when you see the difference.
▪ astonished extremely surprised:
He was astonished by how much she had changed.
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an astonished look
▪ astounded extremely surprised or shocked. Astounded sounds a little more formal and a little stronger than astonished :
She was astounded by how much it cost.
▪ staggered/flabbergasted/dumbfounded [not before noun] extremely surprised or shocked:
‘What?’ I said, utterly staggered by his answer.
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She just sat there looking flabbergasted.
▪ stunned so surprised that you do not know what to do or say:
I was too stunned to protest.
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Everyone seemed stunned by his outburst.
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They listened in stunned silence.
▪ speechless so surprised that you cannot speak:
I was speechless when I heard that I’d won.
▪ taken aback [not before noun] surprised by what someone says or does, so that you are not sure how to react:
I was a little taken aback by her question.
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Sharpe was somewhat taken aback by the girl 's directness.
▪ nonplussed /nɒnˈplʌst $ nɑːn-/ formal surprised and a little confused:
She was nonplussed by such an odd question.
▪ gobsmacked [not before noun] British English informal extremely surprised – a very informal use:
I was absolutely gobsmacked when they told me I had passed.