astonished

[uh-ston-isht]

adjective

1. filled with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder; amazed.

   Before the eyes of the astonished crowd, the magician pulled off everything from simple card tricks to the disappearance of his lovely assistant.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of astonish.

Other Word Forms

• astonishedly adverb
• unastonished adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of astonished¹

First recorded in 1510–20, for an earlier sense; astonish + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense; astonish + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

"We were all looking at each other a bit astonished, a bit confused," Giulia says.

From BBC

That's a contrast to most stadium concerts, where the message is more like: "Look upon me, puny mortals, and be astonished by my divine talents and somewhat improbable physique."

From BBC

“Our ancestors,” Schmitt continued, “would be astonished to learn that they were fighting for a ‘proposition.’

From Salon

"I'm astonished by Sunderland's spending, but they have given themselves an opportunity of staying up."

From BBC

"But I was genuinely astonished at KDH's portrayal of our culture."

From BBC

Related Words

• awed 
• baffled 
• befuddled 
• dazed 
• mystified www.thesaurus.com
• perplexed 
• puzzled www.thesaurus.com
• rattled www.thesaurus.com
• shocked www.thesaurus.com
• startled 
• stunned 
• surprised www.thesaurus.com