astonishing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of astonishing
Explanation
Something astonishing is astounding, staggering, stupefying, amazing, or incredible. It's not something you see every day. This is a pretty strong word. A dog shaking hands is not astonishing, but a dog calling 911 for its owner definitely is. Astonishing things are amazing; they blow your mind. When people first walked on the moon, that was astonishing. Miracles are astonishing. If you say, "Holy cow! I can't believe what I'm seeing," you're probably seeing something astonishing.
Vocabulary lists containing astonishing
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Nothing But the Truth
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Copper Sun
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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.
Appeared in the November 6, 2025, print edition as 'A Museum’s Astonishing Arrival'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 5, 2025
Elsewhere, Deadline's Jake Kanter wrote: "Adolescence is as flawless a four hours of TV drama I have ever seen. It lingers in the mind long after the credits have rolled. Astonishing telly."
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2025
Rainfall forecasts: Astonishing amounts of rain were forecast across urban L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2024
The work was partially funded by a biotech start up called Astonishing Labs, which aims to harness the technology to treat neurological disease and nerve and spinal cord injuries.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 29, 2023
Health note: Astonishing weight increase, due no doubt to the anxiety which my dear mother’s increasing unpleasantness is causing me.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
