1. astonishing, startling, unexpected. surprising\sur*pris"ing\, a. exciting surprise; extraordinary; of a nature to excite wonder and astonishment; as, surprising bravery; a surprising escape from danger. -- sur*pris"ing*ly , adv. -- sur*pris"ing*ness , n.
2. Exciting surprise; extraordinary; of a nature to excite wonder and astonishment; as, surprising bravery; a surprising escape from danger. causing surprise or wonder or amazement; "the report shows a surprising lack of hard factual data"; "leaped up with surprising agility"; "she earned a surprising amount of money".
3. The act of coming upon, or taking, unawares; the act of seizing unexpectedly; surprisal; as, the fort was taken by surprise.
4. The state of being surprised, or taken unawares, by some act or event which could not reasonably be foreseen; emotion excited by what is sudden and strange; a suddenly excited feeling of wonder or astonishment.
5. Anything that causes such a state or emotion.
6. A dish covered with a crust of raised paste, but with no other contents.
7. To come or fall suddenly and unexpectedly; to take unawares; to seize or capture by unexpected attack.
8. To strike with wonder, astonishment, or confusion, by something sudden, unexpected, or remarkable; to confound; as, his conduct surprised me.
9. To lead to do suddenly and without forethought; to bring into some unexpected state; with into; as, to be surprised into an indiscretion; to be surprised into generosity.
10. To hold possession of; to hold. the act of surprising someone a sudden unexpected event the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you cause to be surprised; "The news really surprised me" come upon or take unawares; "She surprised the couple"; "He surprised an interesting scene".
11. 1. Something that is surprising is unexpected or unusual and makes you feel surprised. It is not surprising that children learn to read at different rates A surprising number of customers order the same sandwich every day. + surprisingly sur·pris·ing·ly the Flemish Bloc, which did surprisingly well in the general election last year see also:
surprise. unusual or unexpected.