flabbergast

verb flab·ber·gast \ ˈfla-bər-ˌgast \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

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Examples: flabbergast in a Sentence

Definition of flabbergast

flabbergasted; flabbergasting; flabbergasts

transitive verb

: to overwhelm with shock, surprise, or wonder : dumbfound

We were flabbergasted by the news that he had won the lottery.

—

flabbergastingly

play \ˈfla-bər-ˌga-stiŋ-lē\ adverb

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Examples of flabbergast in a Sentence

It flabbergasts me to see how many people still support them.
your decision to suddenly quit your job flabbergasts me

Recent Examples of flabbergast from the Web

For three such respected DOJ attorneys to do so simultaneously—just hours before a major filing, and without replacement by any other career lawyers other than a rookie—is simply flabbergasting.

— CNN, "DOJ attorney resigns after Justice stops defending key Obamacare provisions," 12 June 2018
Some people who live downstream are flabbergasted that the city would allow it after Clear Creek swallowed sections of town, with about 2,400 homes taking on damage citywide.

— mark collette, Houston Chronicle, "After Hurricane Harvey, Friendswood residents shocked by plan to build shopping center in floodway," 1 June 2018
Apply Cancel Default Show Advanced Settings Opacity : LIVE 00:00 / 00:00 LIVE CC KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff The woman seems flabbergasted as to who might have left the bloody and shocking surprise.

— josh magness, miamiherald, "Woman found a bloody goat head on her car — and then a picture of herself, police say," 30 May 2018
The richness of the red lets the woman hold her own visually with not just the canyon’s delicate pastels but even its flabbergasting geology.

— mark feeney, BostonGlobe.com, "At Cambridge Public Library, photos in color, in the stacks, in Cambridge," 8 May 2018
In 2012 after the Newtown shooting, angry voters turned their immediate attention to Congress and were flabbergasted when Congress did nothing.

— will bunch, Philly.com, "This is America, 2018. Government is dead. Corporations rule. Their 'electorate' is consumers | Will Bunch," 4 Mar. 2018
The level of interest in this wedding, and in Kate and Wills' nuptials back in 2011, genuinely flabbergasts me.

— refinery29.com, "I Don't Give A Single Sh*t About The Royal Wedding, With Good Reason," 18 May 2018
Even Doocy, an ardent Trump apologist, seemed flabbergasted by the logical fallacy of Trump's deep-state conspiracy theory.

— callum borchers, Washington Post, "‘It’s your Justice Department!’: Fox News hosts tried and failed to halt Trump’s rant," 26 Apr. 2018
So media lawyers were flabbergasted last month when Orlando police refused to turn over recordings of the 911 calls made during the murderous shootout inside the Pulse nightclub that left 49 people dead.

— glenn garvin, miamiherald, "911: The Florida fight over which records are public | Miami Herald," 1 July 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flabbergast.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of flabbergast

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1772

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

flabbergast Synonyms

Synonyms

amaze, astonish, astound, bowl over, dumbfound (also dumfound), floor, rock, shock, startle, stun, stupefy, surprise (also surprize);

Phrases

knock for a loop, take aback, take by surprise;

Synonym Discussion of flabbergast

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.