- present participle of astound.
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.
An astounding one-third to one-quarter of all fuel sold in Mexico may be illicit, according estimates cited by the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
That number is astounding on its own, but according to most sources and experts, it significantly lowballs the war’s true cost, which continues to mount.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Little-Pengelly said she finds it "astounding that people haven't been talking about that for the last 20 years".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
But even taking that to an astounding $1 trillion in 2027 would represent a growth rate of nearly half of what’s expected this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The number of hats Bette owns is astounding.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
