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Word of the Day Tuesday, June 9, 2026

surprisal

/sərˈpraɪzəl/ noun · British & US
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What does surprisal mean?

noun

A measure of the amount of surprise in a random variable, calculated as the expected value of the logarithm of the odds of an event occurring. It is a measure of the information gained when the outcome of an event is known.

Example

"The surprisal of a coin flip is higher when the coin is fair than when it is biased."

Definition generated by AI and curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.

Synonyms for surprisal

Antonyms of surprisal

Rhymes with surprisal

Etymologically related