EN

Synonyms for surpass

32 synonyms
4 antonyms
2 meanings

verb

Most common

exceed out-do outstrip outshine pass go beyond

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. To go beyond

exceed, out-do, outstrip, outshine, top, surmount, out-go, beat, outperform, overshadow, trump, eclipse, transgress, distance, cap, outstep, overreach, overtop, dwarf, overpass US CA, trespass, outmatch

2. Pass

pass, go beyond, go past, pass by, go by, overstep

Other

transcend, excel, shine, overdo

Antonyms

fall short, lag, trail

All antonyms of surpass →

Definitions

v. 1
To go beyond or exceed (something) in an adjudicative or literal sense.
The former problem student surpassed his instructor's expectations and scored top marks on his examination.

Forms

Past participle: surpassed
e.g. surpassed → exceeded, out-done, outstript, outshined…

Example sentences

exceed Nothing can exceed the speed of light in a vacuum.
outshine I have no ambition to outshine him or any other erudite.
surmount There are many obstacles to surmount when translating literary texts.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
surpass		steady
exceed		falling
outshine		rising
outstrip		falling
surmount		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: top¹, cap¹
4 letters: beat¹, pass¹
5 letters: trump¹, shine¹, dwarf¹, excel²
6 letters: exceed², overdo³
7 letters: eclipse², overtop, outstep
8 letters: distance², trespass², overpass³, outshine², overstep³, outstrip², surmount², outmatch
9 letters: transcend², overreach³
10 letters: outperform³, overshadow⁴, transgress²

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (excel² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: surpasser
Deutsch: übertreffen