astonish

verb

/əˈstɒnɪʃ/

/əˈstɑːnɪʃ/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they astonish	/əˈstɒnɪʃ/ /əˈstɑːnɪʃ/
he / she / it astonishes	/əˈstɒnɪʃɪz/ /əˈstɑːnɪʃɪz/
past simple astonished	/əˈstɒnɪʃt/ /əˈstɑːnɪʃt/
past participle astonished	/əˈstɒnɪʃt/ /əˈstɑːnɪʃt/
-ing form astonishing	/əˈstɒnɪʃɪŋ/ /əˈstɑːnɪʃɪŋ/

jump to other results

to surprise somebody very much synonym amaze
Synonyms surprise
surprise
- startle
- amaze
- stun
- astonish
- take somebody aback
- astound
These words all mean to make somebody feel surprised.
- surprise to give somebody the feeling that you get when something happens that you do not expect or do not understand, or something that you do expect does not happen; to make somebody feel surprised:
  The outcome didn’t surprise me at all.
- startle to surprise somebody suddenly in a way that slightly shocks or frightens them:
  Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.
  The explosion startled the horse.
- amaze to surprise somebody very much:
  Just the huge size of the place amazed her.
- stun (rather informal) (often in newspapers) to surprise or shock somebody so much that they cannot think clearly or speak
- astonish to surprise somebody very much:
  The news astonished everyone.
amaze or astonish?These two words have the same meaning and in most cases you can use either. If you are talking about something that both surprises you and makes you feel ashamed, use astonish: He was astonished by his own stupidity.
- take somebody aback [usually passive] (especially of something negative) to surprise or shock somebody:
  We were rather taken aback by her hostile reaction.
- astound to surprise or shock somebody very much:
  His arrogance astounded her.
Patterns
- It surprises somebody/startles somebody/amazes somebody/stuns somebody/astonishes somebody/takes somebody aback/astounds somebody
- to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody that…
- to surprise/amaze somebody what/how…
- to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody to know/find/learn/see/hear…
- to be surprised/startled/stunned into (doing) something
- astonish somebody The news astonished everyone.
- She astonished us by saying she was leaving.
- You astonish me!
- it astonishes somebody (that)… It astonishes me (that) he could be so thoughtless.
Topics Feelingsb2
Word Originearly 16th cent. (as astonished, in the sense ‘stunned, bewildered, dismayed’): from obsolete astone ‘stun, stupefy’, from Old French estoner, based on Latin ex- ‘out’ + tonare ‘to thunder’.