astonish

[uh-ston-ish]

verb (used with object)

1. to fill with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder; amaze.

   Her easy humor and keen intellect astonished me.

   Synonyms: shock, startle, astound

astonish

/ əˈstɒnɪʃ /

verb

1. (tr) to fill with amazement; surprise greatly

Other Word Forms

• astonisher noun
• superastonish verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of astonish¹

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; thunder

Word History and Origins

Origin of astonish¹

C15: from earlier astonyen (see _astonied ), from Old French estoner, from Vulgar Latin extonāre (unattested) to strike with thunder, from Latin tonāre to thunder

Synonym Study

See surprise.

Example Sentences

What astonished him was their complex social structure, and evidence of what he believed to be signs of altruism.

From BBC

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

From BBC

But the finished result, per Coppola’s insistence, with the light seeming to glow from within Driver’s face, is one of the most astonishing shots in “Megalopolis.”

From Los Angeles Times

He took his tally to 90 goals in 101 Premier League games during Sunday's victory over Manchester United, four days after netting an astonishing five goals in Norway's 11-1 hammering of Moldova.

From BBC

Goal machine Haaland took his tally to seven goals this week by netting twice in Sunday's 3-0 victory over rivals Manchester United, having plundered an astonishing five in Norway's 11-1 hammering of Moldova on Tuesday.

From BBC

Related Words

• amaze 
• astound 
• bewilder 
• boggle 
• confound 
• daze 
• dumbfound 
• flabbergast 
• overwhelm 
• shock 
• startle 
• stun 
• stupefy