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

: consternation

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

Synonyms

• admiration
• amazement
• awe
• wonder
• wonderment

Examples 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

Johansson even joked in her musical monologue that castmember Sarah Sherman was leaving, to Sherman's mock astonishment. —Eric Deggans, NPR, 18 May 2025

In a perfect world for Robertson, the astonishment and bewilderment Knies had at Robertson’s game would be enough to push Robertson into the playoffs. —Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025

Afterward, his performance was met with astonishment amongst the judges. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 24 Mar. 2025

At a news briefing later that day, Mayor Karen Bass expressed astonishment about Padilla’s treatment. —Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

astonish + -ment

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a