How to Use surprising in a Sentence

surprising

adjective
  • The changes to the campus were surprising.
  • It's not surprising that he doesn't want to go.
  • He shows a surprising lack of concern for others.
  • A surprising number of people were laid off at the factory.
  • The size of some of the rainbows stocked this year have been surprising.
    — D'arcy Egan, cleveland, 2 Dec. 2022
  • Whether that’s true or not, the film is smart and surprising.
    — Kyle Smith, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2022
  • On the other hand, the Horned Frogs have been one of the most surprising teams of the season.
    — Ian Firstenberg, Chicago Tribune, 8 Jan. 2023
  • What’s even more surprising is how the 26-year-old plans to spend it.
    — Jasmine Browley, Essence, 4 July 2024
  • For her, that was the most surprising aspect of the story.
    — Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2023
  • That the court ruled for the coach is perhaps not surprising.
    — Jessica Gresko, Chron, 27 June 2022
  • The departures from the race weren’t surprising and laid bare the contours of the race.
    — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2022
  • The Falcons’ 0-2 start isn’t surprising, but their play on the field is.
    — Baltimore Sun, 20 Sep. 2022
  • And then there’s Brentford, who are the surprising name on the list of those yet to win two games in a row.
    — Nick Miller, The Athletic, 13 Dec. 2024
  • But now, a new study looks at the topic, and the results are surprising.
    — Melissa Breyer, Treehugger, 30 May 2023
  • With that in mind, the move to iPhone 14 Pro’s new pill-and-hole design isn’t surprising.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 26 Aug. 2022
  • Davis said in a statement that the results were surprising but still not good news for the state of the glacier.
    — Stephanie Ebbs, ABC News, 16 Feb. 2023
  • At the end of the day, trusting your instincts might lead to a surprising win.
    — Hannah Holland, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2023
  • Uh, what’s surprising is, in the last round of the vaccine, very few people got it.
    — Laura Johnston, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2023
  • If that phrase strikes you as odd, that may not be surprising.
    — Dean Obeidallah, CNN, 27 Feb. 2023
  • What’s the most surprising thing that’s happened to you?
    — Lauren Daley, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023
  • Even better, there are a surprising amount of under-$100 deals to shop.
    — Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2023
  • None of this—neither the facts nor the exclusion of the facts—should be surprising.
    — Andrew Delbanco, The New York Review of Books, 8 June 2022
  • Even more surprising is the fact that Ruan never lived in the home.
    — Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022
  • The triumph of vinyl isn’t surprising, as record sales have been growing for the past 16 straight years.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Mar. 2023
  • This fun take on the trend is ideal for a moody spring mani and gives a surprising dash of color to nails.
    — Alejandra Rodríguez, Glamour, 1 May 2025
  • The past six months have seen a surprising amount of Godzilla content.
    — James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Apr. 2024
  • The only surprising part is...how is the rating not 100%?
    — Travis Bean, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024
  • What is surprising is the lack of a clear, credible plan to turn things around—other than more of the same.
    — Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 17 May 2022
  • His comments came shortly after surprising fans with the announcement of their sixth child in 2023.
    — Kayla Grant, People.com, 13 May 2025
  • The fact that Israel carried out the F-35s first combat mission is hardly surprising.
    — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'surprising.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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