astonish

[ uh-ston-ish ]
See synonyms for astonish on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to fill with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder; amaze: Her easy humor and keen intellect astonished me.

Origin of astonish

1
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 -ish2, perhaps reflecting unattested Anglo-French astonir, from dialectal Old French; see thunder

synonym study For astonish

See surprise.

Other words for astonish

Other words from astonish

  • as·ton·ish·er, noun
  • su·per·as·ton·ish, verb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use astonish in a sentence

  • The artistry that went into the making of Gollum still astonishes.

  • Years later, a beautiful girl in college astonishes me at a party by drunkenly reciting this poem from memory, word for word.

    Juvenilia: A Bibliography | Eric Puchner | February 15, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • I do not know a spot on the globe which astonishes and delights, upon your first landing, as the island of Madeira.

    Newton Forster | Captain Frederick Marryat
  • It astonishes me,” said Mr. Grey to Mr. Walter, “that ‘Floy’ should be so little elated by her wonderful success.

    Ruth Hall | Fanny Fern
  • And who knows if the volcanic crater, whose absence at first astonishes the observer, is not the Dead Sea itself?

    The Desert World | Arthur Mangin

British Dictionary definitions for astonish

astonish

/ (əˈstɒnɪʃ) /


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

Origin of astonish

1
C15: from earlier astonyen (see astonied), from Old French estoner, from Vulgar Latin extonāre (unattested) to strike with thunder, from Latin tonāre to thunder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012