astonish

verb

as·​ton·​ish ə-ˈstä-nish How to pronounce astonish (audio)
astonished; astonishing; astonishes
Synonyms of astonishnext

transitive verb

1
: to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise
He was too astonished to speak
They were astonished by the vastness and majesty of the cathedral.
In retrospect, it astonishes me that we avoided a major quarrel for so long.—Christopher Hitchens
2
obsolete : to strike with sudden fear

Synonyms

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Choose the Right Synonym for astonish

surprise, astonish, astound, amaze, flabbergast mean to impress forcibly through unexpectedness.

surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.

surprised to find them at home

astonish implies surprising so greatly as to seem incredible.

a discovery that astonished the world

astound stresses the shock of astonishment.

too astounded to respond

amaze suggests an effect of bewilderment.

amazed by the immense size of the place

flabbergast may suggest thorough astonishment and bewilderment or dismay.

flabbergasted by his angry refusal

Examples of astonish in a Sentence

Despite the hype, there was nothing in the book to astonish readers. The garden's beauty never fails to astonish.
Recent Examples on the Web Powerful solar storms triggered a light show that astonished viewers in Great Britain, Poland, Siberia and Mongolia, as well as from Oregon and Washington to Texas and Florida in the United States. —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024 The people who recorded the original video couldn't help but laugh, astonished at the horrible mispronunciations. —Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 10 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for astonish 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'astonish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

extension by -ish, transitive verbal suffix (as in accomplish, diminish) of astone, astonne, astony "to strike with surprise or fear, stun," going back to Middle English astonen, astonien "to stun, daze, surprise, astound," borrowed from Anglo-French astuner (attested once), estoner, estuner (also continental Old French estoner), going back to Vulgar Latin *extonāre, alteration, by substitution of the suffix ex- ex- entry 1, of Latin attonāre "to strike with lightning, drive crazy" (past participle attonitus "struck with lightning, stupefied, dumbfounded"), from at- ad- + tonāre "to thunder" — more at thunder entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of astonish was circa 1534

Dictionary Entries Near astonish

astonied

astonish

astonishable

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Astonish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astonish. Accessed 28 May. 2024.

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Kids Definition

astonish

verb
as·​ton·​ish ə-ˈstän-ish How to pronounce astonish (audio)
: to strike with sudden wonder or surprise
astonishingly
-iŋ-lē
adverb
astonishment
-mənt
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on astonish

Nglish: Translation of astonish for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of astonish for Arabic Speakers

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