as in surprises
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected
everyone was thunderstruck when she quit her job without warning
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thunderstrikes
Verb
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The five teams scatter to their work stations, bemoaning the 92-degree heat (no one complains about the noisy vroom vroom of the racecar driving around, which surprises me), and get to work.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026 -
The interesting question is by how much, and whether one of them surprises us.—
Patrick Iversen,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Eva’s romance with her husband, Franklin Plaskett, delights and amazes her.—
Adelle Waldman,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
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What amazes me is how good human beings can be in a crisis.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
21 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Historically, Citadel notes, productivity shocks lower marginal costs, expand output, and increase real income, acting as a complement to human labor rather than a strict substitute.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
28 Feb. 2026
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The scheme shocks their high-strung son Harold (Roberts), whose wife, Neha (Gill), is a local police officer.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Hyundai stuns with Atlas Hyundai showcased Atlas at CES in Las Vegas last month.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Mar. 2026
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Jimenez created this look using two coats of a bronzy pearl polish accented with subtle green glitter, resulting in a finish that stuns with its simplicity.—
Kara Jillian Brown,
InStyle,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If hypotheticals about what could have been are a good dream for New York Knicks fans, then Mikal Bridges is the alarm clock that startles them awake.—
James L. Edwards III,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
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The project, which Steinberger has rebranded multiple times—evolving from Clawdbot to Moltbot and finally to OpenClaw—largely owing to politics—has expanded at a pace that startles even seasoned AI experts.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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View gallery - 8 images Vinyl records have been finding more and more new ears in recent years, and Mixx Audio has a novel turntable to help keep the groove moving – one that also rocks a CD player plonked right in the middle of the platter, as well as flexible connectivity.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Mar. 2026
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No one rocks a short haircut quite like Halle Berry.—
Christina Perrier,
InStyle,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His work astonishes and moves people far beyond the fashion bubble to this day.—
WWD Staff,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The order in which those balls were plucked out of those bowls over the next few minutes would determine the World Cup matchups in June–and the psychological state of so many soccer fans.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
5 Dec. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Thunderstrikes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thunderstrikes. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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