astonish
Americanverb (used with object)
-
astonishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
astonished,
past participle, past
-
astonishing
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See surprise.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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astonishsimple
-
astonishessimple
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have astonishedperfect
-
has astonishedperfect
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am astonishingprogressive
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are astonishingprogressive
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is astonishingprogressive
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have been astonishingperfect progressive
-
has been astonishingperfect progressive
Past
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astonishedsimple
-
had astonishedperfect
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was astonishingprogressive
-
were astonishingprogressive
-
had been astonishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of astonish
First recorded in 1525–35; Middle English astonyen, astonen, probably from unattested dialectal Old French astoner, Old French estoner, from unattested Vulgar Latin extonāre, for Latin attonāre “to strike with lightning,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1, at- at- + tonāre “to thunder”; extended by -ish 2, perhaps reflecting unattested Anglo-French astonir, from dialectal Old French; see thunder
Explanation
Things that might astonish you: the discovery of life on another planet, a death-defying performance, and the number of dinosaurs a six-year old child can name. To astonish is to amaze and astound. Remember that astonish means more than surprised. It carries with it a feeling of being truly impressed. Astonish derives from the Latin tonare 'thunder.' When you are astonished, you're thunderstruck. If you plan to astonish someone, you might say before hand, "Wait until you see this. It's going to knock your socks off."
Vocabulary lists containing astonish
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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.
See Examples For:
Investment in artificial intelligence continues to astonish amid a technological arms race.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
Maggie Smith never failed to illuminate and astonish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2024
Bouden added that “I have a lot of hope that Tunisia is going to get better and better, and it will accomplish things that will probably astonish you in the coming months.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
But what would astonish — and mystify — earlier generations of U.S.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2021
Their presence in Africa would astonish us, if the presence of Indonesian people on Madagascar had not already alerted us to Africa’s prehistoric Asian connection.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Throughout Mr. Stob’s narrative, their success astonishes onlookers and converts skeptics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
"Even today, the story of my father and my mother, while giving me much pain, astonishes me still," Blouin said.
From BBC ● Jan. 6, 2025
“It astonishes me that no American male singer sings with a full voice anymore. Where have all the tenors gone?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2022
In one of the performances of the year, Will Keen, as the Russian leader, astonishes throughout, bringing his character to agitated, unpredictable life.
From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2022
Even now, a fact as ordinary, as obvious, as this astonishes him.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
“I just want to tell you how much Ms. magazine has meant to me over the years — and my husband too,” she told an astonished Steinem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Meyers proceeds to tell an astonished Ed that he’s a huge fan of his long-forgotten 1979 poetry collection entitled “Way Past Go,” the postal worker’s fleeting brush with literary success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Fedorova's employers said this week they were astonished to learn of the expulsion order, which they said amounted to "a particularly serious infringement of freedom of expression".
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
He said in a statement that he had been "astonished that such an important story had largely faded from public memory".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
I was astonished at the way news traveled in the barrio.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
In its finest moments, the box set captures the astonishing level of musical development that will energize the remainder of The Beatles’ career, a period of unparalleled pop-cultural ambition and stylistic experimentation.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
That is an astonishing reversal from Berkshire’s glory days during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s when it crushed the overall market by a wide margin.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Rapid advances in artificial intelligence have been matched by an astonishing decline in student learning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
The film recounts French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s astonishing 1974 stunt, in which he and a small band of co-conspirators secretly rigged a cable between the towers, allowing Petit to walk high above lower Manhattan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
It is astonishing to think how much a few months can change a person.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
