as in to amaze
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected
the news that you and she broke up absolutely astonishes me
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Recent Examples of astonish
Bennett enlisted the teen-age McNally to scrape old paint off a plaster frieze in his sitting room; when McNally returned a year later, he was astonished to see the walls’ transformation.
—
Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Richard Noble, the previous land-speed-record holder at 633 mph in Thrust 2, once recalled being astonished by how Green was able to provide a calm commentary while going supersonic in Thrust SSC.
—Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2025
Soccer Player Sidelined Due to Injury from 'Pretty Hefty Sneeze'
According to Ashley, the hospital staff were astonished.
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Licence utilisation among the initial user base exceeded 80 percent, a figure that astonished even the bank’s AI leadership team.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for astonish
Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Richard Noble, the previous land-speed-record holder at 633 mph in Thrust 2, once recalled being astonished by how Green was able to provide a calm commentary while going supersonic in Thrust SSC.
—Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 27 Apr. 2025
Soccer Player Sidelined Due to Injury from 'Pretty Hefty Sneeze'
According to Ashley, the hospital staff were astonished.
—Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025
Licence utilisation among the initial user base exceeded 80 percent, a figure that astonished even the bank’s AI leadership team.
—Zennon Kapron, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for astonish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for astonish
Verb
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In The 2025 Playoffs Cason Wallace didn’t amaze anyone with his playoff debut last season.—
Mat Issa,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
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Among all, what truly amazed the 2022 U.S. Open champion was the 14-time PGA Tour winner, Scheffler's sheer dominance.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 May 2025
Verb
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But none of them have surprised me with their brilliance.—
Baz Dreisinger,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
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Today's teen slang might seem like complete gibberish, but you may be surprised by how many terms echo phrases from the past.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
3 June 2025
Verb
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The Pacers hold a 2-0 series lead after stunning the Knicks at MSG in Games 1 and 2.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 May 2025
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Related article Tyrese Haliburton and Indiana Pacers stun New York Knicks in overtime to take Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals Siakam insisted, however, that he and his teammates were not getting distracted by the prospect of writing their names in franchise history.—
Jamie Barton,
CNN Money,
24 May 2025
Verb
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Perhaps there is some potential for hypersonics here, but I would be shocked to ever see a satellite launched into orbit from a fighter jet.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 May 2025
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The incident, which saw a car veer across a packed street in the center of Liverpool and plough through crowds of supporters, shocked the city and the football world.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
30 May 2025
Verb
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The device startles seals hanging around salmon run obstacles and drives them away from the buffet.—
Cheryl Katz,
Smithsonian Magazine,
19 May 2025
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The trailer opens with Kate (Moore) startled by the sudden appearance of her troubled daughter Claire (Sweeney) on her doorstep covered in rain and blood.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
7 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Astonish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/astonish. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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