What's the difference between flabbergast and surprise?

Flabbergast


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To astonish; to strike with wonder, esp. by extraordinary statements.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) I was flabbergasted, as were the rest of the 30 oceanographers.
  • (2) I would be flabbergasted that if anyone bothered to test the loos of some of our most uptight rightwing papers they didn't find some traces of Class A drugs.
  • (3) "I'd be flabbergasted if the Puntland fields were worth the time of the big players such as BP or Shell.
  • (4) Abbott confirmed that claim and said he was disappointed and flabbergasted by the delay.
  • (5) We were all flabbergasted that the little boy from Quebec city managed to overturn everything."
  • (6) Given its indifference toward women and racism, its eagerness to plunder public coffers and its outright economic and medical hostility toward its own labor force, it is flabbergasting that any of us remain fans of the NFL at all.
  • (7) Abbott’s comments to the Australian newspaper – that he was “flabbergasted” at an apparent decision to delay the acquisition of 12 new submarines – had been contradicted by senior defence officials , Turnbull said.
  • (8) Put simply it’s, “What the actual fuck?” “I don’t even think you are human!” cries one listener, flabbergasted by Broke Up and its squiggling rave synths, which sound as if they’re gasping for life.
  • (9) And he had huge hands, too.” Ron, all these years later, was still moved by, flabbergasted by, the attention Reagan paid to him as a boy.
  • (10) Given that the bugbot video is at least three years old, I'd be flabbergasted if there isn't a production line silently screwing the wings on to a miniature death squadron in some Nevadan hangar right now.
  • (11) Add in the fact that Bert had been hoping to cash in on stock and that Roger has seen his lead at Chevy subverted behind his back and you can understand why SCDP's jungle king has chosen to break the news to a flabbergasted Peggy Olson from the safety of his former rivals' office.
  • (12) But a former Howard-era minister, Peter Reith, disagreed, saying Abbott’s comments to Sheridan that he was “flabbergasted” by an apparent delay in acquiring new submarines would hurt the government.
  • (13) To say that the news has unsettled the party of which he is now the nominal head would be a gross understatement – thunderstruck, flabbergasted or devastated would be closer to the mark.
  • (14) In a story revealing the leak, in the Australian newspaper, Abbott was quoted as saying he had been “not just disappointed” but “flabbergasted” by the delay.
  • (15) "I heard Tim Farron speak earlier and Nick Clegg said this to me as well, they are flabbergasted that essentially we are in a situation where a man … where the allegations and the evidence have now been thoroughly tested and have actually been found to be credible, so nobody is suggesting that they think we are lying."
  • (16) Councillor Trevor Blythe, who represents Clifton ward for the Lib Dems on Bristol city council, said: "We were absolutely flabbergasted when we heard he'd been arrested."
  • (17) "I am so flabbergasted right now; that may be the single weirdest factoid of the entire World Cup."
  • (18) Yet one of the flabbergasting aspects of the Guardian's story about 'Billionaires Row' was the calm acceptance of such spectacular property hoarding.
  • (19) Former prime minister Tony Abbott , who has strenuously denied being the source of the leak to his friend, journalist Greg Sheridan, was quoted in the story in the Australia saying he was “not just disappointed” but also “flabbergasted” by the delay.
  • (20) People … will be flabbergasted that nothing has been done about this," Ummuna said.

Surprise


Definition:

  • (n.) The act of coming upon, or taking, unawares; the act of seizing unexpectedly; surprisal; as, the fort was taken by surprise.
  • (n.) The state of being surprised, or taken unawares, by some act or event which could not reasonably be foreseen; emotion excited by what is sudden and strange; a suddenly excited feeling of wonder or astonishment.
  • (n.) Anything that causes such a state or emotion.
  • (n.) A dish covered with a crust of raised paste, but with no other contents.
  • (n.) To come or fall suddenly and unexpectedly; to take unawares; to seize or capture by unexpected attack.
  • (n.) To strike with wonder, astonishment, or confusion, by something sudden, unexpected, or remarkable; to confound; as, his conduct surprised me.
  • (n.) To lead (one) to do suddenly and without forethought; to bring (one) into some unexpected state; -- with into; as, to be surprised into an indiscretion; to be surprised into generosity.
  • (n.) To hold possession of; to hold.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) If Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, who bought the island in 1738, were to return today he would doubtless recognise the scene, though he might be surprised that his small private buildings have grown into a sizable hotel.
  • (2) Surprisingly, the clonal elimination of V beta 6+ cells is preceded by marked expansion of these cells.
  • (3) Given Australia’s number one position as the worst carbon emitter per capita among major western nations it seems hardly surprising that islanders from Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and other small island developing states have been turning to Australia with growing exasperation demanding the country demonstrate an appropriate response and responsibility.
  • (4) S&P – the only one of the three major agencies not to have stripped the UK of its coveted AAA status – said it had been surprised at the pick-up in activity during 2013 – a year that began with fears of a triple-dip recession.
  • (5) Why is it so surprising to people that a boy like Chol, just out of conflict, has thought through the needs of his country in such a detailed way?” While Beah’s zeal is laudable, the situation in South Sudan is dire .
  • (6) Diabetic retinopathy (an index of microangiopathy) and absence of peripheral pulses, amputation, or history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or transient ischemic attacks (as evidence of macroangiopathy) caused surprisingly little increase in relative risk for cardiovascular death.
  • (7) Just don’t be surprised if they ask you to repair their phones, too.
  • (8) One surprising finding is that the MAL1g-encoded maltose permease exhibits little sequence homology to the MAL1-encoded maltose permease though they appear to be functionally homologous.
  • (9) Surprisingly, however, despite the severe defect in viral DNA replication, the synthesis of a few species of viral late proteins continues in cells infected by some of the E1B mutants.
  • (10) Thus, during treatment with ethambutol visually (pattern) evoked potentials may reveal a surprisingly high percentage of subclinical optic neuritis.
  • (11) Somewhat surprisingly then, in view of the mechanisms in mammals, birds do not seem to use this seasonal message in the photoperiodic control of reproduction.
  • (12) Infants were habituated to models posing either prototypically positive displays (e.g., happy expressions) or positive expression blends (e.g., mock surprise).
  • (13) The BBA statistics director, David Dooks, said: "It was no surprise to see the January mortgage figures falling back from December, when transactions were being pushed through to beat the end of stamp duty relief.
  • (14) "We knew people would be interested in the announcement, but it's fair to say that the scale of the excitement, right across the world, took us all by surprise.
  • (15) When you have champions of financial rectitude such as the International Monetary Fund and OECD warning of the international risk of an "explosion of social unrest" and arguing for a new fiscal stimulus if growth continues to falter, it's hardly surprising that tensions in the cabinet over next month's spending review are spilling over.
  • (16) Myelodysplastic preleukemic syndromes (MDPS) and acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) share a surprising in vivo sensitivity to the hormonally acting 13 cis or all trans retinoic acids (transRA).
  • (17) Apple has come out fighting, which is no surprise given the remarkable success that the company has seen in recent years.
  • (18) His words surprised some because of an impression that the US was unwilling to talk about these issues.
  • (19) A teaching union has questioned appointment of a trustee of Britain's largest academy chain group as chairman of the schools regulator Ofsted , in what was a surprise announcement meant to calm some of the internal conflicts within the coalition.
  • (20) Given that a post-poll economy still registers as a crucial issue among undecided voters, and that matters economic are now his BBC day job, that was hardly surprising.