surprise

initial

Once we got over the initial surprise of the new teacher's style, the class settled down.

mock

She opened the gift with mock surprise, though she had already seen it in the store.

element

The magician's trick worked because the audience didn't expect that final element of surprise.

feign

When she opened the gift, she feigned surprise even though she had already seen it.

hide

He tried to hide his surprise when he opened the birthday gift.

cause

His sudden arrival at the party caused surprise among all his friends.

in ~

My teacher looked at me in surprise when I said I wanted to study mathematics.

to your ~

To your surprise, the quiet new student turned out to be an excellent public speaker.

with/without ~

She opened the letter without surprise, having already guessed what it would say.

~ at

My friend's reaction at the announcement was one of complete disbelief and shock.

get, have

We got a nice surprise when our teacher announced we could leave early on Friday.

spring

The birthday party was wonderful because my friends managed to spring a surprise on me.

be in for

The children were in for a big surprise when they opened the birthday present.

catch sb by, take sb by

His sudden announcement caught everyone by surprise at the team meeting yesterday.

~ for

Her sudden arrival at the party was quite a surprise for everyone.

~ to

The news that she was moving abroad came as a complete surprise to everyone at work.

not at all

His decision to quit his job did not surprise me at all.

wouldn't

It wouldn't surprise me if she decided to change jobs again next year.

want to

She wanted to surprise her boyfriend by booking tickets to his favorite band's concert.