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take by surprise

 - 4 dictionary results
Surprise
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sur⋅prise

  [ser-prahyz, suh-] verb, -prised, -pris⋅ing, noun
Use take by surprise in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me.
2. to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.
3. to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.).
4. to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning: to surprise the facts from the witness.
5. to lead or bring unawares, as into doing something not intended: to surprise a witness into telling the truth.
–noun
6. an act or instance of surprising or being surprised.
7. something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement: His announcement was a surprise to all.
8. an assault, as on an army or a fort, made without warning.
9. a coming upon unexpectedly; detecting in the act; taking unawares.
—Idiom
10. take by surprise,
a. to come upon unawares.
b. to astonish; amaze: The amount of the donation took us completely by surprise.
Origin:
1425–75; (n.) late ME < AF surpris(e), MF, ptp. of surprendre, equiv. to sur- sur- 1 + pris (masc.), prise (fem.) < L prēnsus, -sa, equiv. to prēnd(ere), contracted var. of prehendere to take (see prehension ) + -tus, -ta ptp. suffix; (v.) late ME surprisen < AF surpris(e) (ptp.), MF, as above

Related forms:
sur⋅pris⋅ed⋅ly  [ser-prahy-zid-lee, -prahyzd-, suh-] , adverb
sur⋅pris⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. Surprise, astonish, amaze, astound mean to strike with wonder because of unexpectedness, strangeness, unusualness, etc. To surprise is to take unawares or to affect with wonder: surprised at receiving a telegram. To astonish is to strike with wonder by something unlooked for, startling, or seemingly inexplicable: astonished at someone's behavior. To amaze is to astonish so greatly as to disconcert or bewilder: amazed at such an evidence of stupidity. To astound is to so overwhelm with surprise that one is unable to think or act: astounded by the news.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Surprise
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Word Origin & History

surprise  (n.)
c.1457, "unexpected attack or capture," from M.Fr. surprise "a taking unawares," from noun use of pp. of O.Fr. surprendre "to overtake," from sur- "over" + prendre "to take," from L. prendere, contracted from prehendere "to grasp, seize" (see prehensile). Meaning "something unexpected" first recorded 1592, that of "feeling caused by something unexpected" is 1608. Meaning "fancy dish" is attested from 1708.
"A Surprize is ... a dish ... which promising little from its first appearance, when open abounds with all sorts of variety." [W. King, "Cookery," 1708]
The verb is from 1474. Surprise party originally was a military detachment (1841); festive sense is attested from 1858.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: sur·prise
Function: noun
1 : a condition or situation in which a party to a proceeding is unexpectedly placed without any fault or neglect of his or her own and that entitles the party to relief (as a new trial)
2 : an aspect of procedural unconscionability that consists of hiding a term of a contract in a mass of text
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

take by surprise

Encounter unexpectedly, as in The rainshower took us by surprise. [Late 1600s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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