To save this word, you’ll need to log in. How does the verb surprise contrast with its synonyms? Some common synonyms surprise valentines day ideas for him surprise are amaze, astonish, astound, and flabbergast. While all these words mean “to impress forcibly through unexpectedness,” surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.

Where would amaze be a reasonable alternative to surprise? When is it sensible to use astonish instead of surprise? While the synonyms astonish and surprise are close in meaning, astonish implies surprising so greatly as to seem incredible. When is astound a more appropriate choice than surprise? The words astound and surprise are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, astound stresses the shock of astonishment. When might flabbergast be a better fit than surprise?

In some situations, the words flabbergast and surprise are roughly equivalent. However, flabbergast may suggest thorough astonishment and bewilderment or dismay. Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz! Solve today’s spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Can you make 12 words with 7 letters? Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. Spelling isn’t all black and white. Learn a new word every day.