astonish

Meaning

To surprise greatly.

Synonyms

amaze

surprise

astound

startle

stun

bewilder

dumbfound

flabbergast

wonder

perplex

stagger

confound

be amazed

shock

⚡

catch

frighten

amazement

nonplus

marvel

stupefy

astonishment

daze

throw

trouble

voice

worry

fill with wonder

surprising thing

astony

stonish

amazing

baffle

befuddle

bemuse

blindside

boggle

burst upon

confuse

discompose

dismay

distract

distress

floor

jump

miracle

mystify

overtake

puzzle

shake

stagnate

surprised

Hyphenated as

as‧ton‧ish

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈstɒnɪʃ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: astonien

Inherited from Old English: *āstunian

Cognate with German: erstaunen

Cognate with Frankish: *stunen

Cognate with Middle High German: stunen

In summary

From an alteration (due to words ending in -ish: abolish, banish, cherish, establish, furnish, etc.) of earlier astony, astone, aston, astun (“to astonish, confound, stun”), from Middle English astonien, astunien, astonen, astunen, astounen (“to astound, stun, astonish”), of uncertain origin, possibly from Old English *āstunian, from ā- (perfective prefix) + stunian (“to make a loud sound, crash, resound, roar, bang, dash, impinge, knock, confound, astonish, stupefy”), from Proto-Germanic *stunōną (“to sound, crash, bang, groan”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ten-, *(s)ton- (“to thunder, roar, groan”), equivalent to a- + stun. Compare German erstaunen (“to astonish, amaze”). Another possible source, or else influence, is Old French estoner, estuner, estonuer, estonner (“to stun”), either from an assumed Vulgar Latin *extonāre (“to strike with thunder, daze, stupefy, stun”) from *extonō (ex + tono), or from Old Frankish *stunen (“to stun”), related to Middle High German stunen (“to knock, strike, stun”) and then, if not the source, still a cognate of the word astound.