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
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
Roald DahlExamples 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
Cooper went on to express astonishment at Brown's ability to shrug off the initial insecurity but, ten years after the initial buzz cut, the actress is no stranger to defending herself against critics who comment on her appearance.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2025
When a seemingly routine Oval Office press conference degenerated into a shouting match on 28 February, the world looked on in astonishment.
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 Mar. 2025
Most had never even heard of most of them and didn't seem at all embarrassed by that (despite the look of astonishment on their instructor's face).
—Bradley Gitz, arkansasonline.com, 27 Jan. 2025
The Oscars, airing March 2 on ABC and streaming live on Hulu, will offer up kudos for some of these astonishments.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for astonishment
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Shania Russell, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2025
When a seemingly routine Oval Office press conference degenerated into a shouting match on 28 February, the world looked on in astonishment.
—IEEE Spectrum, 7 Mar. 2025
Most had never even heard of most of them and didn't seem at all embarrassed by that (despite the look of astonishment on their instructor's face).
—Bradley Gitz, arkansasonline.com, 27 Jan. 2025
The Oscars, airing March 2 on ABC and streaming live on Hulu, will offer up kudos for some of these astonishments.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for astonishment
Cite this Entry
“Astonishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astonishment. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.
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