amazement
Americannoun
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overwhelming surprise or astonishment.
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Obsolete.
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stupefaction; frenzy.
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noun
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incredulity or great astonishment; complete wonder or surprise
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obsolete bewilderment or consternation
Etymology
Origin of amazement
Explanation
Amazement is what you feel when you're shocked or astonished by something. When you feel amazement, you can't quite believe what you're seeing or hearing. To amaze someone is to shock, surprise, and astonish them. Amazement is the emotion produced by truly unusual and surprising things. A juggler throwing around fire can produce amazement. A child reciting thousands of digits of Pi will create amazement. Parents feel amazement at the birth of their children. This is a strong feeling resulting from incredible events. No one feels amazement about average, boring stuff.
Vocabulary lists containing amazement
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 2
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"The Tempest," Vocabulary from Acts 1 and 2
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"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3
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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.
"Our first reaction was actually disbelief, amazement," the student, named Kobe, told Belgian public broadcaster VRT.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Its director, Geert Hillaert, said his first reaction was "surprise and amazement", adding that he hoped the loot might eventually be used to support the charity's work and meet the "enormous need we experience daily".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Throughout human history eclipses have stirred amazement, fear and reverence, as they appear to momentarily halt the normal course of nature.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
But amazement tends not to pay the bills, and for a while she and Cook lived sparingly by the sea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Now she gazed in amazement at her image.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
