Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

surprising

/sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.28 in modern English

Syllables: sur-pris-ing
IPA: /sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/

13

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

present participle and gerund of surprise

adj

Causing surprise.

noun

A situation in which somebody is surprised.

Example Sentences

"A surprising number of people attended the rally."
"With this the second of three games in seven days for Stoke, it was hardly surprising to see nine changes from the side that started against Newcastle in the Premier League on Monday."
"Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return."
"But the comments of most of these novelists are the record of their continual surprisings by the varieties of moral and aesthetic truths."

Etymology

From surprise + -ing.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/
British English: /səˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/

Inflected Forms

more surprising (comparative) most surprising (superlative) surprisings (plural)

Derived Forms

surprisingly surprisingness unsurprising

Synonyms

astonishing unexpected astounding awesome random shocking spontaneous sudden surprise heartstopping surprising unbelievable

Antonyms

commonplace everyday expected humdrum mundane unsurprising

Rhymes With

rising comprising uprising arising advising sizing revising devising disguising unsurprising chastising despising

Questions

How do you pronounce surprising?: The recorded pronunciation is /sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/.
What does surprising mean?: present participle and gerund of surprise
Where does surprising come from?: From surprise + -ing.

How to pronounce surprising

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “surprising”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/sɚˈpɹaɪzɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “surprising”.
Repeat and practice — Say “surprising” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.