astonish
verb
as·ton·ish
ə-ˈstä-nish 
astonished; astonishing; astonishes
1
: to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise
He was too astonished to speak
They were astonished by the vastness and majesty of the cathedral.
In retrospect, it astonishes me that we avoided a major quarrel for so long.—
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens2
obsolete
: to strike with sudden fear
Synonyms
Examples of astonish in a Sentence
Despite the hype, there was nothing in the book to astonish readers.
The garden's beauty never fails to astonish.
Recent Examples on the Web
Many observers were astonished, for example, when in September, Israel simultaneously detonated thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah.
—Sarah E. Parkinson, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2024
Stats Wins 1 Podiums 8 Oscar Piastri 3 TA Ranking
Analysis
Watching Piastri this year, you’d be astonished to learn this is only his second season on the F1 grid.
—Luke Smith, The Athletic, 7 Aug. 2024
That meant those showing up in New Zealand were astonished to discover their task was to climb the New Zealand Fiji Mountains within 14 days.
—Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 29 Sep. 2024
Immediately upon being plucked from the proverbial shadows of the backroom studio, Alessandro Michele astonished with his new Gucci, a house reawakened by an intriguing gentility rich with influences from antiquity to today’s urban culture.
—Bridget Foley, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for astonish 
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Sarah E. Parkinson, Foreign Affairs, 11 Nov. 2024
Stats Wins 1 Podiums 8 Oscar Piastri 3 TA Ranking
Analysis
Watching Piastri this year, you’d be astonished to learn this is only his second season on the F1 grid.
—Luke Smith, The Athletic, 7 Aug. 2024
That meant those showing up in New Zealand were astonished to discover their task was to climb the New Zealand Fiji Mountains within 14 days.
—Mark Peikert, IndieWire, 29 Sep. 2024
Immediately upon being plucked from the proverbial shadows of the backroom studio, Alessandro Michele astonished with his new Gucci, a house reawakened by an intriguing gentility rich with influences from antiquity to today’s urban culture.
—Bridget Foley, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for astonish
Dictionary Entries Near astonish
Cite this Entry
“Astonish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astonish. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
astonish
verb
as·ton·ish
ə-ˈstän-ish
: to strike with sudden wonder or surprise
astonishingly
adverb
-iŋ-lē
astonishment
noun
-mənt
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