Words / A2

s-uh-PRYZ/səˈpraɪz/

A surprise is something unexpected, or the feeling it causes. What a surprise! Surprise can be a verb: you surprised me. Surprised describes the person; surprising describes the thing — same pattern as interested/interesting.

Meaning

A feeling when something unexpected happens, or the unexpected event itself.

Examples

• “The party was a surprise.”
• “The ending was a surprise.”
• “She looked surprised.”

Good to know

surprised = how you feel. surprising = the thing. Verb: surprise someone.

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