surprise

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/sərˈpraɪz/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/sɚˈpraɪz, sə-/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(sər prīz′, sə-)

Inflections of 'surprise' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
surprises
v 3rd person singular
surprising
v pres p
surprised
v past
surprised
v past p
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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2025:

Principal Translations
InglésEspañol
surprise [sb]⇒ vtr (be unexpected)sorprender a vtr + prep
 The sudden rain storm surprised us.
 La repentina lluvia nos sorprendió.
surprise [sb] by doing [sth] v expr (do [sth] unexpected)sorprender a alguien haciendo algo loc verb
 Ken surprised his wife by making her pancakes for breakfast.
 Ken sorprendió a su mujer haciendo tortitas para el desayuno.
surprise [sb] vtr (do [sth] nice for [sb])sorprender⇒ vtr
 Tina is disappointed that her husband never surprises her.
 Tina está decepcionada con que su marido nunca la sorprende.
surprise [sb] with [sth] vtr + prep (do [sth] nice for [sb])sorprender a alguien con loc verb
 We surprised her with flowers.
 La sorprendimos con flores.
surprise [sb] by doing [sth] v expr (do [sth] nice for [sb])sorprender a alguien haciendo algo loc verb
 The students surprised their teacher by throwing her a party.
 Los estudiantes sorprendieron a su profesor haciendo una fiesta en su honor.
surprise n (unexpected event)sorpresa nf
 The call from his long-lost brother was a genuine surprise.
 La llamada de su hermano, que llevaba desaparecido mucho tiempo, fue una genuina sorpresa.
surprise n (reaction to a surprise)sorpresa nf
 When they announced that she had won, her surprise showed on her face.
 Cuando anunciaron que había ganado, podías ver la sorpresa en su rostro.
surprise n (catching [sb] unawares)sorpresa nf
 The surprise went well. He had no idea that they were going to do that.
 La sorpresa salió bien. Él no tenía idea alguna de que ellos fueran a hacer eso.
Surprise! interj (greeting to party)¡Sorpresa! interj
 Surprise! Happy birthday!
 ¡Sorpresa! ¡Feliz cumpleaños!
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Additional Translations
InglésEspañol
surprise adj (party: unexpected)sorpresa adj inv
 They threw him a surprise birthday party.
 Ellos le celebraron una fiesta sorpresa de cumpleaños.
surprise⇒ vi (cause surprise)sorprender⇒ vtr
 She is so inventive, and always surprises.
 Ella es tan ingeniosa y siempre sorprende.
surprise [sb]⇒ vtr (catch)sorprender a vtr + prep
 The police surprised the burglars with the money in their hands.
 La policía sorprendió a los ladrones con el dinero en las manos.
surprise [sb] vtr (attack unexpectedly)sorprender a vtr + prep
 The enemy surprised them early in the morning.
 El enemigo los sorprendió temprano en la mañana.
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WordReference English-Spanish Dictionary © 2025:

Compound Forms:
InglésEspañol
come as a surprise v expr (be unexpected) (coloquial)pillar a alguien por sorpresa loc verb
  llegar inesperadamente loc verb
 The letter offering me a job came as a total surprise.
 La carta ofreciéndome trabajo me pilló por sorpresa.
 La carta ofreciéndome trabajo llegó inesperadamente.
surprise package n (unexpected parcel)caja sorpresa nf + adj
  paquete sorpresa nm + adj
 ⓘEsta oración no es una traducción de la original. Recibí una caja sorpresa en mi puerta esta mañana.
surprise party n (celebration)fiesta sorpresa nf + adj
take [sb] by surprise v expr (surprise [sb])tomar por sorpresa a loc verb
  sorprender a vtr + prep
 She took him by surprise when she suddenly ran into his room.
 Lo tomó por sorpresa cuando apareció corriendo en la habitación.
to [sb]'s surprise expr (unexpectedly)para sorpresa de expr
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'surprise' aparece también en las siguientes entradas:
In the English description:
ah - ambush - astonishment - Bless my soul! - blimey - boy - buried treasure - bushwhack - by cracky - catch flat-footed - catch off guard - cor - coup de main - cripes - crumb - damn - dear me - Fancy that - gadzooks - gasp - gee - gee whiz - Go figure - Godfrey - golly - Good heavens! - good lord - goodness me! - hell's bells - hello - holy Moses - holy smoke - how about that - I'll be buggered - I'll be damned - in astonishment - indeed - jeepers creepers - jeez - la - lo and behold - lumme - man - marry - my - my God - No kidding - of all - oh - Oh my!
Spanish:
extrañeza - pasmar - sorprender - sorpresa - asombro - embazar - imprevisto - inesperado - asombrar - agarrar en curva - caer por sorpresa - cara de asombro - carpir - coger de sorpresa - coger desprevenido a alguien - coger por sorpresa - dar una sorpresa - dejar a alguien de una pieza - dejar frío - desprevenido - emboscar - extrañar - factor sorpresa - fiesta sorpresa - ir listo - malón - no darse por enterado - no en balde - peripecia - pillar en bragas - pillar por sorpresa - por sorpresa - premio sorpresa - revelación - sacar de onda - sin asombro - sorpresivamente - sorpresivo - turbar

Collocations: surprise your [students, children, partner], a [pleasant, nice, great, horrible, shocking, big] surprise, threw her a surprise [party, birthday party, celebration], more...

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See Google Translate's machine translation of 'surprise'.

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