astound

[ uh-stound ]

verb (used with object)

1. to overwhelm with amazement; astonish greatly; shock with wonder or surprise.

adjective

1. Archaic. astonished; astounded.

astound

/ əˈstaʊnd /

verb

1. tr to overwhelm with amazement and wonder; bewilder

Other Words From

• as·toundment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of astound¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English astoun(e)d, past participle of astonen, variant of astonyen “to thunder.” See astonish

Word History and Origins

Origin of astound¹

C17: from astoned amazed, from Old French estoné, from estoner to astonish

Synonym Study

See surprise.

Example Sentences

After this he went on to become one of the world’s greatest warriors and the founder of an empire whose progressiveness, reach, and might would astound poets, writers, travelers, historians, and archaeologists for centuries to come.

From Quartz

The fact that they’re not applying that retroactively to people who’ve already been sentenced astounds me.

From Vox

Imaginative and inspired, Spirited Away immerses the viewer in a fantastical world that at once astounds and alarms.

From Time

Our planet was very different 100,000 years ago, and if we could survey that time, we would be astounded by the human diversity across its surface.

From Nautilus

While the Switch doesn’t push polygons like its competitors, it still manages to use innovative design choices to present graphic art that can astound, immerse, and enthrall.

From Popular-Science

But it continues to astound me that there are troves of archives that have not been looked at.

From The Daily Beast

The depth of rage, animus and violence that was directed at him—“Spittle flying, the N word flying”—continues to astound him.

From The Daily Beast

In the first years of his frolicking life he loved also to astound Rome, and succeeded a number of times.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet she was a rare enough exception to astound my abstracted mind.

From Project Gutenberg

You rather astound me with respect to value of grounds of generalisation in the morphology of plants.

From Project Gutenberg

In it there appeared volunteer troops to astound seasoned veterans by their dash and discipline.

From Project Gutenberg

Master Mather is to bring his feathers to show the Governor, and to astound the Governor's skeptical wife.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• astonish
• bewilder
• confound
• confuse
• dumbfound
• flabbergast
• overwhelm
• shock
• stagger
• startle
• stun
• stupefy
• surprise