astonish
verb
transitive verb
Christopher Hitchens
Synonyms
- amaze
- astound
- bowl over
- dumbfound
- dumfound
- flabbergast
- floor
- rock
- shock
- startle
- stun
- stupefy
- surprise
- surprize
- thunderstrike
Example Sentences
Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2022 Learn what the market expects from people who have your dream job -- the answer might astonish you! Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 23 Nov. 2021 Any hope that Trump's autocratic proclivities could be channeled into mega-projects to astonish his base fizzled. Richard Galant, CNN, 15 Aug. 2021 The strength and speed of tornadoes can astonish even weather professionals like Georgia State Climatologist Bill Murphey. USA Today, 17 June 2021 Joe Biden could take the key step that would allow America to once again to astonish with world with what free people can do. Robert Zubrin, Scientific American, 25 Mar. 2021 Palantir is capable of mining and aggregating data on individual people in a manner that would astonish almost anyone. Annie Jacobsen, Wired, 20 Jan. 2021 Fifteen are by Rembrandt, a number that seems to astonish even Kaplan. Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2021 The prestige networks continue to put out shows that astonish me with their raw honesty, drama and characters. Washington Post, 29 Dec. 2020 See More Word History
probably from earlier astony (from Middle English astonen, astonien, from Anglo-French estoner to stun, from Vulgar Latin *extonare, from Latin ex- + tonare to thunder) + -ish (as in abolish) — more at thunder entry 1
circa 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Kids Definition
astonish
verb
astonish
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- amaze
- surprise
- stun
- shock
- startle
- astound
- rock
- dumbfound
- flabbergast
- stupefy
- bewilder
- perplex
- surprize
- befuddle
- thunderstrike
- bowl over
- dumfound
- disconcert
- take aback
- floor
- take by surprise
- nonplus
- discomfit
- dismay
- confound
- confuse
- shake up
- blindside
- muddle
- daze
- blow away
- jar
- knock for a loop
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of astonish are amaze, astound, flabbergast, and surprise. While all these words mean "to impress forcibly through unexpectedness," astonish implies surprising so greatly as to seem incredible.
While the synonyms amaze and astonish are close in meaning, amaze suggests an effect of bewilderment.
While in some cases nearly identical to astonish, astound stresses the shock of astonishment.
In some situations, the words flabbergast and astonish are roughly equivalent. However, flabbergast may suggest thorough astonishment and bewilderment or dismay.
The meanings of surprise and astonish largely overlap; however, surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.