astonishment

noun

as·​ton·​ish·​ment ə-ˈstä-nish-mənt 

1

a

: a feeling of great surprise and wonder : the state of being astonished : amazement

The garden's beauty filled me with astonishment.

b

: consternation

2

: something that astonishes : a cause of amazement or wonder

Everything that he had seen so far … had been so astonishing that he began to wonder whether there could possibly be any more astonishments left.

—Roald Dahl

Synonyms

• admiration
• amazement
• awe
• wonder
• wonderment

Examples of astonishment in a Sentence

The garden's beauty filled me with astonishment.

A crowd watched in astonishment as he jumped from the bridge.

They discovered to their astonishment that their car had been stolen.

Much to the astonishment of her friends and family, she left school to pursue her acting career.

Recent Examples on the Web

The world will still exceed my comprehension and astonishment by orders of magnitude. —Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

What ensues is a series of astonishments—a flexing of muscles not often associated with our too-sedate conceptions of Iranian auteur cinema. —Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 26 Nov. 2024

Tiny items of astonishment on the tick list of existence. —Outside Online, 30 Oct. 2024

In South Texas, travelers had an unexpected roadblock: a massive SpaceX rocket, turning a routine drive into a moment of sheer astonishment. —Brandi D. Addison, Austin American-Statesman, 31 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

astonish + -ment

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a