astonish

verb

as·​ton·​ish ə-ˈstä-nish 

astonished; astonishing; astonishes

transitive verb

1

: to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise

He was too astonished to speak

They were astonished by the vastness and majesty of the cathedral.

In retrospect, it astonishes me that we avoided a major quarrel for so long.

—Christopher Hitchens

2

obsolete : to strike with sudden fear

Synonyms

• amaze
• surprise
• stun
• shock
• startle

Choose the Right Synonym for astonish

surprise, astonish, astound, amaze, flabbergast mean to impress forcibly through unexpectedness.

surprise stresses causing an effect through being unexpected but not necessarily unusual or novel.

surprised to find them at home

astonish implies surprising so greatly as to seem incredible.

a discovery that astonished the world

astound stresses the shock of astonishment.

too astounded to respond

amaze suggests an effect of bewilderment.

amazed by the immense size of the place

flabbergast may suggest thorough astonishment and bewilderment or dismay.

flabbergasted by his angry refusal

Examples of astonish in a Sentence

Despite the hype, there was nothing in the book to astonish readers.

The garden's beauty never fails to astonish.

Recent Examples on the Web

In her work, Warner has dispelled myths such as the one that indigenous people, astonished by modern technologies, believed that cameras stole their souls. —David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

He was astonished and renewed by that quiet. —Stephen Trimble, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025

However, once the remains of a massive circular stone foundation came to light, over 29 feet wide, archaeologists were admittedly astonished. —Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2025

Veterans of past Administrations were astonished. —Emma Green, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

extension by -ish, transitive verbal suffix (as in accomplish, diminish) of astone, astonne, astony "to strike with surprise or fear, stun," going back to Middle English astonen, astonien "to stun, daze, surprise, astound," borrowed from Anglo-French astuner (attested once), estoner, estuner (also continental Old French estoner), going back to Vulgar Latin *extonāre, alteration, by substitution of the suffix ex- ex- entry 1, of Latin attonāre "to strike with lightning, drive crazy" (past participle attonitus "struck with lightning, stupefied, dumbfounded"), from at- ad- + tonāre "to thunder" — more at thunder entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for astonish

• admonish

Kids Definition

astonish

verb

as·​ton·​ish ə-ˈstän-ish 

: to strike with sudden wonder or surprise

astonishingly

-iŋ-lē

adverb

astonishment

-mənt

noun