astonished

UK: /əˈstɒnɪʃt/ US: /əˈstɑnɪʃt/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

as•ton•ished /əˈstɑnɪʃt/  adj. 

1. very surprised or amazed:
   The astonished students couldn't believe they had all failed the physics test.

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

as•ton•ish /əˈstɑnɪʃ/   v. [~ + object]

1. to fill with sudden wonder;
   amaze:
   The sudden victory astonished everybody.

Related Words

astonish is a verb, astonished and astonishing are adjectives, astonishment is a noun:
The tricks astonished the kids. The astonished onlookers gasped in amazement. The astonishing tricks entertained us for quite a while. You could see the look of astonishment on their faces.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

as•ton•ish  (ə ston′ish), v.t. 

1. to fill with sudden and overpowering surprise or wonder;
   amaze:
   Her easy humor and keen intellect astonished me.

• dialect, dialectal Old French
• Vulgar Latin *extonāre, for Latin attonāre to strike with lightning, equivalent. to ex- ex-¹, at- at- + tonāre to thunder; extended by -ish², perh. reflecting Anglo-French *astonir
• dialect, dialectal Old French *astoner, Old French estoner
• Middle English astonyen, astonen, probably 1525–35

as•ton′ished•ly, adv. 
as•ton′ish•er, n. 
Synonyms

astound, startle, shock. See surprise. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

astonish / əˈstɒnɪʃ/ verb

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

Etymology: 15th Century: from earlier astonyen (see astonied), from Old French estoner, from Vulgar Latin extonāre (unattested) to strike with thunder, from Latin tonāre to thunder