Words / B2

uh-STON-ish/əˈstɒnɪʃ/

To astonish is to surprise someone very much: astonish the team; an astonishing result. Amaze and astound are close twins; astonish is slightly more formal than amaze. The result astonished the team; still quote the p-value. Mix-up: astonish vs establish; stone. Do not write astonish for a result that matched the prediction exactly.

Meaning

To surprise someone very much.

Examples

• “The result astonished the team; still quote the p-value, the write-up said.”
• “An astonishing turnout still needs the named poll, which is the adjective sense.”

Good to know

astonish + person; astonishing + noun; astonished at / by. Close: amaze / astound / stagger. Trap: establish. Science, news, and literature. Surprise someone very much — still give the figure.

Near in meaning

amaze, astound, stagger

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