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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

surprise

/sɚˈpɹaɪz/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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The first vowel can be r-colored or plain.

The IPA shows both relaxed openings. In each, the second syllable is strongest, with an eye vowel before z; focus on that shared strong beat.

2 syllables · Stress on syllable 2

TRY SAYING
“The visit was a pleasant surprise.”

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

What does surprise mean?

noun

  1. Something unexpected.
  2. A mess of feces, left by a pet or small child in an unexpected place or at an unexpected time.
  3. The feeling that something unexpected has happened.
More meanings (13)

verb

  1. To cause (someone) to feel unusually alarmed or delighted by something unexpected.
  2. To do something to (a person) that they are not expecting, as a surprise.
  3. To undergo or witness something unexpected.
  4. To cause surprise.
  5. To attack unexpectedly.
  6. To take unawares.

interjection

  1. Drawing attention to a surprising action by oneself.
  2. Drawing attention to something that should have been obvious.

proper noun

  1. A city in Maricopa County, Arizona, the largest place with this name.
  2. An unincorporated community in Jackson County, Indiana.
  3. A village in Butler County, Nebraska.
  4. A populated place in Greene County, New York.
  5. Former name of Surprise Station, California.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/sɚˈpɹaɪz/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

Other dictionary pronunciations

/səˈpɹaɪz/
CMU Pronouncing Dictionary ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

What was his surprise to see the sulphur shine with so extraordinary a brilliancy as to be almost unbearable to the eye.
Jules VerneFrom the Earth to the moon; and, round the moonProject Gutenberg ebook #83
She felt but little surprise at seeing that Alec d’Urberville had come back, and was standing under the hedge by the gate.
Thomas HardyTess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure WomanProject Gutenberg ebook #110
More book examples (3)
He went downstairs, and smiled with the pleased pride of a child at the surprise which his appearance at the door created.
Harold FredericThe Damnation of Theron WareProject Gutenberg ebook #133
To the great surprise of his watcher, the man who was being tracked did not mount by the inclined plane for watering.
Victor HugoLes MisérablesTranslated by Isabel Florence HapgoodProject Gutenberg ebook #135
He now came forward again, and his eye caught the conspicuous stranger, who, rather to his surprise, was staring at him markedly.
George EliotMiddlemarchProject Gutenberg ebook #145