astonishment
noun
as·ton·ish·ment
ə-ˈstä-nish-mənt 
1
a
: a feeling of great surprise and wonder : the state of being astonished : amazement
The garden's beauty filled me with astonishment.
b
2
: something that astonishes : a cause of amazement or wonder
Everything that he had seen so far … had been so astonishing that he began to wonder whether there could possibly be any more astonishments left.—
Roald Dahl
Roald DahlExamples of astonishment in a Sentence
The garden's beauty filled me with astonishment.
A crowd watched in astonishment as he jumped from the bridge.
They discovered to their astonishment that their car had been stolen.
Much to the astonishment of her friends and family, she left school to pursue her acting career.
Recent Examples on the Web
This article aims to challenge this prevailing sense of astonishment.
—David Chauvet, JSTOR Daily, 26 Mar. 2025
Breeding for More Than Just Color Mr. Baker could have supplied his customers with a flashy assortment of coleus ordered from wholesale sources, skipping years of effort (but missing all the astonishment).
—Margaret Roach, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
The accidental inclusion of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal chat detailing where bombs were going to fall in Yemen has managed to elicit bipartisan astonishment and criticism.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
Seventeen hundred people piled into the comments expressing astonishment that someone who had previously been so vocal in support of Ukraine was now apparently cheering the humiliation of its leader.
—Andrew Carey and Victoria Butenko, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for astonishment
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
David Chauvet, JSTOR Daily, 26 Mar. 2025
Breeding for More Than Just Color Mr. Baker could have supplied his customers with a flashy assortment of coleus ordered from wholesale sources, skipping years of effort (but missing all the astonishment).
—Margaret Roach, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
The accidental inclusion of The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal chat detailing where bombs were going to fall in Yemen has managed to elicit bipartisan astonishment and criticism.
—Thomas Brewster, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025
Seventeen hundred people piled into the comments expressing astonishment that someone who had previously been so vocal in support of Ukraine was now apparently cheering the humiliation of its leader.
—Andrew Carey and Victoria Butenko, CNN Money, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for astonishment
Cite this Entry
“Astonishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astonishment. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share