as in to amaze
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected
the news that you and she broke up absolutely astonishes me
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of astonish
Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund's film feels like a good novel, with art, crime, love, and squalor all intersecting in a cohesive story that manages to astonish.
—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
In the days after her state-meet performance, she still was astonished by her record-setting discus throw.
—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
After Lepore published These Truths, she was astonished by the number of readers who reached out to tell her what the book meant to them.
—
Yoni Appelbaum,
The Atlantic,
8 June 2026
With a turn of a crank, Edison astonished the dozen or so staffers who had gathered around the contraption.
—
Ron Cowen,
Scientific American,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for astonish
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
In the days after her state-meet performance, she still was astonished by her record-setting discus throw.
—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
10 June 2026
After Lepore published These Truths, she was astonished by the number of readers who reached out to tell her what the book meant to them.
—
Yoni Appelbaum,
The Atlantic,
8 June 2026
With a turn of a crank, Edison astonished the dozen or so staffers who had gathered around the contraption.
—
Ron Cowen,
Scientific American,
3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for astonish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for astonish
Verb
-
More than 30 years later, what amazes me isn’t just what that team accomplished on the field.
-
This technology still amazes me.
Verb
-
Through the fantastical nature of this story and the original nature of the omniscient narrator Ahmad is able to continually surprise.
-
There was also a nice moment with his dad, who surprised him after flying to New York on a red-eye Sunday morning.
Verb
-
Still, the pace and scale of the effort has stunned longtime sanctions observers.
-
While the crime plot is an obvious highlight, I was stunned by Tilly and Gershon’s incredible chemistry and the rejection of stereotypical noir tropes.
Verb
-
Cape Verde came onto the international stage with a thrilling show — shocking the world with its 0-0 draw against Spain, where Vozinha was catapulted into sports stardom for stonewalling the Spanish, and on to its 2-2 stalemate with Uruguay.
-
This was a practice in which doctors used extreme measures such as draining large amounts of blood (bloodletting) or inducing vomiting in an attempt to shock the patient’s body back to health.
Verb
-
The mobile phone alert startled many across the city-state of Dubai, the first such alert since the interim ceasefire.
-
Lansley said she has been startled by how chatbots can appear to display emotional intelligence.
Cite this Entry
“Astonish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/astonish. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
