surprising
/səˈpraɪzɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /sərˈpraɪzɪŋ/ (ame, ipa) · /sər-ˈprī-ziŋ sə-/ (ame, mw)
surprising — adjective
- surprisingpositive
- more surprisingcomparative
- most surprisingsuperlative
1. not what you thought would happen, so that you feel surprised, often in a pleasa
not what you thought would happen, so that you feel surprised, often in a pleasant or interesting way
It was surprising to see Mayumi finish the race before everyone else.
it is surprising + to-infinitive
Tamar found it surprising that the library stayed open until midnight.
find it surprising + that-clause
A surprising number of young people in the town had never tried Thai food.
The ending of the movie was so surprising that everyone in the theater gasped.
Walid's victory was not surprising to the team because he had trained so hard.
- unexpected
the most direct synonym; 'unexpected' is neutral while 'surprising' adds emotional impact
- astonishing
much stronger; suggests something so far from what seemed possible that it is hard to believe
- startling
implies a sudden, sharp surprise, often with a physical reaction like jumping back
- expected
the direct opposite — something you knew was coming
- predictable
suggests that something happens exactly as one would guess, so no surprise at all
文法句型
it + be + surprising + to-infinitive
it + be + surprising + that-clause
surprising + noun
find + it + surprising + that-clause
用法筆記
Commonly confused with 'surprised': 'surprising' describes something that causes the feeling (the movie is surprising → it makes you feel surprise), while 'surprised' describes the person who has the feeling (I am surprised by the movie).