surprise attack

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The talks were due to continue the following week; Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a surprise attack on a Saturday.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

The pair arrived in the country just months before the Yom Kippur war in 1973, when a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria overran Israel’s front line.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

If Venezuela or any other country launched a surprise attack on the United States, I wouldn’t want the courts to monkey-wrench our prompt response.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2025

Another survivor said simply of the "surprise" attack: "We were helpless."

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2024

While the United States was still reeling from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 9, 1941, under an order of Stalin, the first of Marina Raskova’s aviation regiments was created.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein