(a.) Exciting surprise; extraordinary; of a nature to excite wonder and astonishment; as, surprising bravery; a surprising escape from danger.
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.
Zinger
Definition:
Example Sentences:
(1) Reportedly, her teleprompter conked out, inadvertently taking thousands of fresh “Obama Teleprompter” jokes with it, so she ad libbed, ultimately going 10 minutes over her allotted time while hurling out rewarmed zingers and bewildering anecdotes.
(2) "Trickle down government ... is not the answer for America," is obviously one of the famous Mitt Romney Zingers that we have promised.
(3) Still, Farage poses a few rhetorical questions and, as he seems to seek rational discussion instead of comic zingers, so I am happy to answer them here seriously.
(4) You decided to stay home and that’s OK.” But Clinton had a zinger up her sleeve: “I think Donald just criticised me for preparing for this debate.
(5) Although this zinger owes its origins to the fact that Thatcher's gag-writer, Sir Ronald Millar, happened to be a dramatist of the Fry generation, he could expect that the reference would be understood by a significant proportion of the press and the electorate.
(6) He started telling his own variation on the classic in March 2014, and today he delivered his own zinger: Ta-da!
(7) In a tetchy BBC Question Time encounter with Ukip’s Nigel Farage , it was Brand who produced the zinger, with the jibe that his opponent was “a pound-shop Enoch Powell ”.
(8) The story of the Grantham family has reached 1924, and, according to Mrs Hughes, “Downton is catching up with the times we live in.” “That is exactly what I’m afraid of,” replies Carson, suggesting yet more resistance to impending modernity – which, of course, means plenty of opportunity for baffled zingers from the Dowager Countess.
(9) It’s about a set of principles.” He acknowledged his shortcomings, however, by running through the long list of advice he has received of late: some stylistic, like removing his glasses or changing his tie, and some more strategic: “Nail that zinger.
(10) That latter detail unfortunately undermined some of the hilarity of the Snapchat zinger, since complying with a law enforcement directive about which you really have no choice isn’t really that funny.
(11) He saves a zinger for the planted follow us, accusing the ALP of " inter generational theft " 5.14am BST Abbott's third motion of indulgence to acknowledge the death of Paul Ramsay who is described as the creator of a "mighty business empire, but he never lost his soul".
(12) They had seen him, heard the zingers, taken a picture or two, and now they were heading to the parking lot, to get a head start on the traffic.
(13) You can focus on how things look and how they played and who won the zinger-off rather than on the underlying issues.
(14) Glenn looks pleased until Hollywood hits him with an under-baked zinger.
(15) As the candidates deliver their zingers, you can take their words and create your own debate lines.
(16) Updated at 8.38am GMT 8.32am GMT First set: Djokovic 1-1 Wawrinka* (*denotes server) Wawrinka starts with a 217km ace, followed by a zinger that Djokovic connects with but can't control.
(17) Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) Romney walked into that pension zinger.
(18) Obama: While the president generally struggled to get his "zingers" across, over-larding them with too much detail, he did get in a pithy dig about Romney's vague budget proposals which he claimed didn't add up.
(19) Updated at 8.07pm BST 8.00pm BST The Guardian will be live blogging tonight's debate, starting in a few hours, at which point we will subject you to, among others, these shady characters: Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) "Can I use my zinger now?"
(20) Clearly, the early word that Romney would offer "zingers" was a misdirection, as he avoided most cutesy or canned lines.