as in stunned
affected with sudden and great wonder or surprise
the teen was thunderstruck when his parents told him he had been adopted
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in surprised
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected
everyone was thunderstruck when she quit her job without warning
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thunderstruck
Marin Independent Journal, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
The baseball-loving family members were thunderstruck at spotting the T206 Honus Wagner in the frame.
—Marin Independent Journal, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thunderstruck
Adjective
-
Before long, security surrounded the former fan favorite and dragged him out of the arena in handcuffs as stunned fans watched.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2026
-
In 2019, when Cattelan unveiled the work at the Art Basel Miami art fair in Florida, performance artist David Datuna grabbed the banana from the wall, before peeling and eating it in front of hundreds of stunned fair attendees.—
Jack Guy,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Those were the circumstances under which my mother surprised me with one additional detail about her long-ago time in Paris.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026
-
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase, who watched Leite bring a spark off the Valkyries bench last season, has not been surprised by Leite’s sophomore year jump.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Williams was amazed by the results.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
27 May 2026
-
The 6 million would be amazed just at the existence of the state of Israel.—
Samuel S. Flax,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 May 2026
Verb
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That shocked George, who the next year approved Parliament’s acts designed to rein in Massachusetts’ ability to govern itself.—
Laurie Kellman,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
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That shocked George, who the next year approved Parliament's acts designed to rein in Massachusetts' ability to govern itself.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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And so did a few astonished gasps when a drone shot revealed just how far outside of the Mojave tent her crowd of headbanging bodies stretched.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
17 Apr. 2026
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One that draws more approving thumbs-ups, creates more astonished grins, or pulls more phones from pockets for impromptu photographs and video—especially in stunning Verde Ermes metallic paint.—
Michael Harley,
Forbes.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The blast in Indonesia's restive eastern Papua region startled locals with a thunderous boom on Sunday afternoon, emitting a ball of flames followed by a thick smoke column, according to footage broadcast on Kompas TV.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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The scale of what is emerging in China’s northwestern desert has left even seasoned analysts startled.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
And she is just completely dumbstruck by that.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
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The parents at this kind of show, of course, are less dumbstruck than the kids: The card is not floating but instead swinging on some string.—
Joseph Vukov,
Chicago Tribune,
29 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Thunderstruck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thunderstruck. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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