astonish

[uh-ston-ish]

verb (used with object)

1. to fill with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder; amaze.

   Her easy humor and keen intellect astonished me.

   Synonyms: shock, startle, astound

astonish

/ əˈstɒnɪʃ /

verb

1. (tr) to fill with amazement; surprise greatly

Other Word Forms

• astonisher noun
• superastonish verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of astonish¹

First recorded in 1525–35; Middle English astonyen, astonen, probably from unattested dialectal Old French astoner, Old French estoner, from unattested Vulgar Latin extonāre, for Latin attonāre “to strike with lightning,” equivalent to ex- ex- ¹, at- at- + tonāre “to thunder”; extended by -ish ², perhaps reflecting unattested Anglo-French astonir, from dialectal Old French; thunder

Word History and Origins

Origin of astonish¹

C15: from earlier astonyen (see _astonied ), from Old French estoner, from Vulgar Latin extonāre (unattested) to strike with thunder, from Latin tonāre to thunder

Synonym Study

See surprise.

Example Sentences

"I'm astonished by Sunderland's spending, but they have given themselves an opportunity of staying up."

From BBC

The son of a church minister, Guehi will view Monday's astonishing collapse of his move to Liverpool simply as the path that was set for him.

From BBC

"But I was genuinely astonished at KDH's portrayal of our culture."

From BBC

"It's astonishing that the government has undertaken no independent analysis before embarking on the biggest reorganisation of councils for 50 years," said Sam Chapman-Allen, chair of the District Councils' Network.

From BBC

"I thought the overwhelming feeling of love was a myth but when I was first dating my partner I really did get butterflies and it was just astonishing."

From BBC

Related Words

• amaze 
• astound 
• bewilder 
• boggle 
• confound 
• daze 
• dumbfound 
• flabbergast 
• overwhelm 
• shock 
• startle 
• stun 
• stupefy