astound
1 of 2verb
transitive verb
Alan T. Martyastound
2 of 2adjective
Synonyms
Verb
- amaze
- astonish
- bowl over
- dumbfound
- dumfound
- flabbergast
- floor
- rock
- shock
- startle
- stun
- stupefy
- surprise
- surprize
- thunderstrike
Example Sentences
Marco Rubio, CNN, 26 Aug. 2022 The people who lay down on any old bed or any flat pillow and drift right to a peaceful, long sleep, then wake up totally refreshed, absolutely astound me. Annie Burdick, Peoplemag, 3 Aug. 2022 That seemed to astound Breyer, who noted that the war in Afghanistan had ended. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 4 July 2022 Realism, romanticism, dynamic… Neal had a full quiver, that never went empty of new arrows to amaze and astound us. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Apr. 2022 The vision that Mitch Jenkins brings to the film will astound audiences and the superb ensemble cast will delight genre fans! Manori Ravindran, Variety, 29 Apr. 2022 The expertise, scholarship and logistics behind every one of them would astound you even in ordinary times. Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2022 Heath Ledger will astound forever, but what else is really left of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy? Darren Franich, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2022 The pusillanimity of American corporations on this subject continues to astound. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Adjective and Verb
Middle English astoned, from past participle of astonen — see astonish
Verb
1592, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
astound
verb
astound
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- amaze
- surprise
- astonish
- stun
- shock
- startle
- dumbfound
- rock
- flabbergast
- stupefy
- bewilder
- perplex
- befuddle
- surprize
- dumfound
- bowl over
- thunderstrike
- disconcert
- take aback
- floor
- take by surprise
- dismay
- confound
- nonplus
- discomfit
- confuse
- muddle
- shake up
- blindside
- daze
- blow away
- jar
- knock for a loop
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of astound are amaze, astonish, flabbergast, and surprise. While all these words mean "to impress forcibly through unexpectedness," astound stresses the shock of astonishment.
The words amaze and astound can be used in similar contexts, but amaze suggests an effect of bewilderment.
In some situations, the words astonish and astound are roughly equivalent. However, astonish implies surprising so greatly as to seem incredible.
Although the words flabbergast and astound have much in common, flabbergast may suggest thorough astonishment and bewilderment or dismay.
While the synonyms surprise and astound are close in meaning, surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.