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Glite Dictionary
surprisal

surprisal

8.4
A sudden feeling when something happens that you did not expect
  • noun
  • /sərˈpraɪzəl/
translation icon : sorpresa
  • Her sudden promotion at work was a delightful surprisal that no one had anticipated.

Examples

  • The storm's unexpected arrival was a surprisal that caught everyone off guard.

  • The magician's final trick was a real surprisal for the audience, leaving them in awe.

  • Information is surprisal, it's unexpected outcomes.

  • Shannon Shannon identifies information exclusively by its surprisal, unexpected bits.

Synonyms

surprise
vssurprisal
∞ 1.0

A sudden feeling of wonder when something is unexpected

refers to the sudden event or act that brings about that feeling

Antonyms

expectation
633 2.8

A belief that something will happen in the future

predictability
17 3.3

How much you can know about what will happen next

How Surprising

astonishment
33 3.4
amazement
56 1.2
surprisal
8.4
surprise
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

surprisal singular
surprisals plural

Morphology

surprisal = surprise (transparent) = surprise + al

Formed from the common base 'surprise' plus the nominalizing suffix '-al', yielding the act/state sense in a predictable way.

Etymology

Surprisal comes from the word surprise, and that older word had parts sur- meaning 'over' and prise meaning 'to take' or 'catch'. So, surprisal is the act or feeling of being suddenly caught off guard.