astonishment

noun

as·​ton·​ish·​ment ə-ˈstä-nish-mənt How to pronounce astonishment (audio)
1
a
: a feeling of great surprise and wonder : the state of being astonished : amazement
The garden's beauty filled me with astonishment.
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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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

Word History

Etymology

astonish + -ment

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of astonishment was in 1566

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Astonishment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astonishment. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on astonishment

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!