astounding
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of astounding
Explanation
Astounding is an adjective that describes something bewildering, like the astounding sight of a dog walking on two legs. When something is astounding, you might find yourself unable to speak — after all, astounding comes from the Middle English word astouned, meaning "to stun." If you see something that's astounding, you might just stare and stare, speechless. Astounding also describes something so surprisingly impressive that it overwhelms, like the astounding news that you just won the lottery.
Vocabulary lists containing astounding
30 GRE Words Beginning with "A"
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
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Wolf Hollow
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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.
Sandisk has soared an astounding 3,218% over the last 12 months as its solid-state drives, or eSSDs, have become a crucial component in artificial-intelligence data centers.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
He played on most days, for an astounding six sets over three hours, with little regard to the weather.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
The astounding discovery that could link Eastern and Western medicine.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
The one constant who is responsible for all the hockey decisions and has overseen this astounding lack of success over the previous nine years is team president Luc Robitaille.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2026
It has an astounding 10.2 percent efficiency, which is good because Mars doesn't get as much sunlight as Earth.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
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.
