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
-
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
She is now 95 and widowed, and her positivity and determination continue to astonish.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
Such arguments astonish educators who have found ways to accelerate children successfully.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2022
Samuel said, “Most people don’t read the details. It’s the details that astonish me. And Abel had no children.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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
“I’d like to do something with them like the canvases of the sunflowers because it astonishes me that no one has done them as I see them.”
From New York Times ● May 11, 2023
“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
Even now, a fact as ordinary, as obvious, as this astonishes him.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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
The coaches were astonished at how quickly he picked up the playbook.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
FIFA’s insistence that the judiciary body that made the decision was independent did nothing to assuage Belgium’s soccer federation, which said it was astonished by the move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
I will be astonished if they can accomplish what is necessary in 60 days.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Having never heard such delighted noises from her relatives before, the girl got out of bed and was astonished to see her old aunt and uncle dancing with firewood around a large pot.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
“Everything I do these days I want to do with an excellent script, and you can play from there — and this was an astonishing script,” Root says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
However, 324 days after he last took to the track, Ingebrigtsen produced an astonishing late surge to claim victory.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The What’s Resonating newsletter laid out the astonishing levels of media coordination on the day of the committee hearing:
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger on Thursday called the German government's decision "really astonishing", with the company having already completed technical due-diligence work showing that "we can make it happen".
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
How their needles kept up with their tongues was a mystery to me, but I thought I’d call on Mrs. Payne and see if she had anything astonishing to show me.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
