How to Use astonishment in a Sentence

astonishment

noun
  • A crowd watched in astonishment as he jumped from the bridge.
  • Much to the astonishment of her friends and family, she left school to pursue her acting career.
  • They discovered to their astonishment that their car had been stolen.
  • The garden's beauty filled me with astonishment.
  • To the astonishment of the cops, this time the patrons fought back.
    Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2021
  • There were a few hugs and high-fives amid the astonishment.
    Bro Krift, The Indianapolis Star, 13 May 2022
  • The offer drew a look of happy astonishment from the couple and cheers from the crowd.
    Maria Carter, Country Living, 18 July 2017
  • Over the past year my reaction to Covid news from the U.S. has been one of astonishment.
    WSJ, 22 Aug. 2021
  • Video on Twitter showed the righty reaching 94-96, to the astonishment of those around him.
    Brandon Chase, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2019
  • Oh my god,’ and put her hands over her mouth in astonishment.
    Shawn McFarland, courant.com, 4 June 2019
  • Hjerson, to Klara’s astonishment and glee, is a huge fan of Klara’s work.
    John Anderson, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2022
  • To the astonishment of the naysayers, her numbers were right.
    Elizabeth Winkler, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2020
  • To their astonishment, the box opened to reveal a trove of centuries-old gold coins.
    Nora McGreevy, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Sep. 2021
  • Then there's the reveal of just how valuable some of these antiques are, to the astonishment of the owner.
    Madeline Boardman, EW.com, 22 Feb. 2024
  • The story is that Magnum recorded this song all in one take to the astonishment of those in the studio.
    Mike Oliver | Moliver@al.com, al, 14 Sep. 2019
  • Entering the world of the great apes leaves you with a feeling of astonishment.
    The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Here's a sample of his astonishment as a catch-phrase was born.
    Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 25 Oct. 2017
  • To my astonishment, the same tone echoed back from a wooden molding in the classroom.
    Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2022
  • To the research team’s astonishment, the white blood cell count of the rabbits dropped to zero or points very close to zero.
    Jennet Conant, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
  • For most of the video’s more-than-10-minute duration, Lengyel’s mouth was agape in astonishment.
    Washington Post, 6 Aug. 2021
  • And in this world, women are shown to be subservient to men, much to the puzzlement of Barbie and the pleased astonishment of Ken.
    Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 July 2023
  • The themes were tones and feelings [about] the ever increasing astonishment at how crazy the world is.
    Billboard Staff, Billboard, 14 Mar. 2022
  • There was huge relief—and not a little astonishment that both the crowds and, in the main, the media had been so positive.
    Penny Junor, Vanities, 28 Mar. 2018
  • To their astonishment, a voice screamed back from someplace far off.
    Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Dec. 2022
  • One of the astonishments of these times is just how large a half-century has become.
    David Von Drehle, Twin Cities, 22 July 2019
  • The deer regarded me as a god would, eased by my astonishment.
    Ama Codjoe, The New York Review of Books, 4 May 2023
  • To their astonishment, the researchers found 30 distinct gears: 27 in the largest fragment and one each in three others.
    Tony Freeth, Scientific American, 15 Dec. 2021
  • When the astonishment ebbs, the past clouds over into itself.
    Roger Rosenblatt, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2018
  • Harris smiled broadly and put her hand to her chin, nodding in mock astonishment at that claim.
    Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
  • Twilley’s book is full of remarkable reasons to find astonishment in what the refrigerator has wrought.
    Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'astonishment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: