Astonish

Astonish
Astonish As*ton"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Astonished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Astonishing}.] [OE. astonien, astunian, astonen, OF. estoner, F. ['e]tonner, fr. L. ex out + tonare to thunder, but perhaps influenced by E. stun. See {Thunder}, {Astound}, {Astony}.] 1. To stun; to render senseless, as by a blow. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

Enough, captain; you have astonished him. [Fluellen had struck Pistol]. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

The very cramp-fish [i. e., torpedo] . . . being herself not benumbed, is able to astonish others. --Holland. [1913 Webster]

2. To strike with sudden fear, terror, or wonder; to amaze; to surprise greatly, as with something unaccountable; to confound with some sudden emotion or passion. [1913 Webster]

Musidorus . . . had his wits astonished with sorrow. --Sidney. [1913 Webster]

I, Daniel . . . was astonished at the vision. --Dan. viii. 27. [1913 Webster]

Syn: To amaze; astound; overwhelm; surprise.

Usage: {Astonished}, {Surprised}. We are surprised at what is unexpected. We are astonished at what is above or beyond our comprehension. We are taken by surprise. We are struck with astonishment. --C. J. Smith. See {Amaze}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • astonish — index confound, confuse (bewilder), overcome (overwhelm), overwhelm Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • astonish — c.1300, astonien, from O.Fr. estoner to stun, daze, deafen, astound, from V.L. *extonare, from L. ex out + tonare to thunder (see THUNDER (Cf. thunder)); so, lit. to leave someone thunderstruck. The modern form (influenced by English verbs in ish …   Etymology dictionary

  • astonish — *surprise, astound, amaze, flabbergast Analogous words: nonplus, dumbfound, bewilder, confound (see PUZZLE): impress, strike, touch, *affect …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • astonish — [v] surprise amaze, astound, bewilder, blow away*, blow one’s mind*, boggle, bowl over*, confound, daze, dumbfound, flabbergast, floor*, knock over*, overwhelm, put one away*, shock, spring on, stagger, startle, stun, stupefy, take aback, throw a …   New thesaurus

  • astonish — ► VERB ▪ surprise or impress greatly. DERIVATIVES astonished adjective astonishing adjective astonishment noun. ORIGIN Old French estoner «stun, stupefy», from Latin tonare to thunder …   English terms dictionary

  • astonish — [ə stän′ish] vt. [altered < ME astonien < OFr estoner < VL * extonare (for L attonare) < ex , intens. + tonare, to THUNDER] to fill with sudden wonder or great surprise; amaze SYN. SURPRISE astonishing adj. astonishingly adv …   English World dictionary

  • astonish */ — UK [əˈstɒnɪʃ] / US [əˈstɑnɪʃ] verb [transitive] Word forms astonish : present tense I/you/we/they astonish he/she/it astonishes present participle astonishing past tense astonished past participle astonished to surprise someone very much Beth… …   English dictionary

  • astonish — See amaze. See amaze, astonish, surprise …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • astonish — v. 1) to astonishgreatly, very much 2) (R) it astonished me to learn that he was here; it astonished us that they were able to survive * * * [ə stɒnɪʃ] it astonished us that they were able to survive very much (R) it astonished me to learn that… …   Combinatory dictionary

  • astonish — as|ton|ish [əˈstɔnıʃ US əˈsta: ] v [T] [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: astone to astonish (14 17 centuries) (from Old French estoner, from Vulgar Latin extonare, from Latin tonare to thunder ) + ish (as in abolish)] to surprise someone very much =… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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