astonishing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of astonishing
Explanation
Something astonishing is astounding, staggering, stupefying, amazing, or incredible. It's not something you see every day. This is a pretty strong word. A dog shaking hands is not astonishing, but a dog calling 911 for its owner definitely is. Astonishing things are amazing; they blow your mind. When people first walked on the moon, that was astonishing. Miracles are astonishing. If you say, "Holy cow! I can't believe what I'm seeing," you're probably seeing something astonishing.
Vocabulary lists containing astonishing
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Nothing But the Truth
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Copper Sun
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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.
This is an astonishing display of incompetence, or disloyalty, or both.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Baroque artist from Seville painted scenes of monastic stillness in astonishing detail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
There have been astonishing increases in AI use in 2026, and the increase in token use has vastly outweighed the declining “per token cost”.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Since then, they have spread into an astonishing range of habitats and lifestyles.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
It was astonishing what a peculiar and uncomfortable state of things was produced by the ‘resting and reveling’ process.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
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.
