astonish
verb (used with object)
to fill with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder; amaze.
was astonishing
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past progressiveof astonish.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
To onlookers, it was astonishing seeing a schoolgirl in a headband outwit adults who had been competing at top-flight events since before she was born.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
But Eisenberg did say that his loyalty to Rockin’ Grandma’s and its employees was astonishing: “You can’t script anything like that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026
AI was astonishing at cognitive tasks and solving problems it had already seen, but it struggled with the creative elements of his field, which require intuition and abstract thinking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
It was "astonishing that the company failed to recognise the breach for five months", President Lee Jae Myung said, adding that the "scale of the damage is massive".
From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025
It was astonishing, really, the quality of life she was able to lead in that crippled body, and watching her during the three years of her paralysis, I made another discovery about love.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
