astonishing

adjective

as·​ton·​ish·​ing ə-ˈstä-ni-shiŋ 

: causing a feeling of great surprise or wonder : surprising

an astonishing discovery

astonishingly

ə-ˈstä-ni-shiŋ-lē 

adverb

Synonyms of astonishing

• surprising
• startling
• amazing
• stunning
• shocking

Examples of astonishing in a Sentence

He showed an astonishing lack of concern for others.

The truck can hold an astonishing amount of stuff.

She gave an astonishing performance in her first film.

Recent Examples on the Web

Over five decades, Gehry’s astonishing output of museums, performance halls, experimental houses, and philanthropic projects appeared in our pages with a regularity matched only by their originality. —Maya Ibbitson, Architectural Digest, 9 Dec. 2025

But the essential thing was to make hay of the topic du jour and its astonishing details. —Paul McAdory, Them., 9 Dec. 2025

The last comeback before that involves the astonishing career of a Wisconsin political legend, Democrat Bill Proxmire. —Craig Gilbert, jsonline.com, 8 Dec. 2025

Experts are striving to match the astonishing power efficiency of the human brain, which operates on under 20 watts while performing the equivalent of one billion mathematical operations per second. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of astonish

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for astonishing

• admonishing