dumbfounded
Americanadjective
verb
Etymology
Origin of dumbfounded
Explanation
When you're dumbfounded, you're amazed. Being dumbfounded is an extreme form of being surprised or caught off guard. Being dumbfounded is not something that happens every day: this is a word that means something similar to astonished and gobsmacked. Only things that are extraordinary can dumbfound you. This word plays on an older meaning of dumb that means unable to speak. When you're dumbfounded, you're so astounded and shocked that you can't even speak. Save this word for occasions that are truly unusual and amazing.
Vocabulary lists containing dumbfounded
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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.
And though some of the names listed have since been implicated in his crimes, or at least knew about his conviction, many others were dumbfounded to be mentioned at all because they’d never met Epstein.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Huckabee, however, appeared dumbfounded: “I’m totally unable to process what you’re trying to get at.”
From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026
American skater Nathan Chen, the Beijing men's individual gold medallist, was dumbfounded, saying: "What a shock".
From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026
The South Park police force is dumbfounded by the videos, believing they are real.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2025
But the aspect of married life that dumbfounded him and rendered him totally disfunctional was the appearance of children.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
