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.
Where the blindness becomes astonishing is that the actual military situation isn’t the one being described to us with unhealthy delight.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Antarctica's Hektoria Glacier underwent an astonishing collapse between early 2022 and spring 2023, retreating at a pace rarely seen in modern observations.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
He erased that X with his camera and his astonishing heart.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026
Meanwhile, AI chatbots have improved at a startling pace in both the accuracy and relevance of their answers to an astonishing range of questions.
From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026
Only after he had shut the door, and the taxi was on its way back downtown to Mia’s cramped apartment, did she unfold the paper to see that astonishing figure again: $10,000.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
