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 of astonishment

• amazement
• admiration
• 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

The tournament brought more than a million visitors into the country, and a striking number of them have spent the trip documenting their astonishment at things Americans stopped seeing years ago. — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026

To the astonishment of many a Bobhead, Dylan’s guitarist Doug Lancio was replaced in Santa Barbara by Julian Lage, the youngish jazz star known for his work with Gary Burton and John Zorn. — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026

Talking naturally to an AI that understands context, remembers previous conversations and controls my house may have garnered astonishment and commentary. — New Atlas, 14 June 2026

Swilling beers from sponsor Corona, the hosts marveled at the turnaround, expressing the same astonishment that Larry David, Ben Stiller and other fans were showing on the ABC telecast. — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 13 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

astonish + -ment

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a