Words / B2

uh-STON-ish-ing/əˈstɒnɪʃɪŋ/

Astonishing means very surprising, almost hard to believe. Surprising is everyday and milder; amazing is common but often vague praise. Astonish is the verb, astonishment the noun, and astonishingly the adverb. Save it for a real jolt of surprise, not for a decent sandwich — in speech, I could not believe it is the natural paraphrase.

Meaning

Very surprising; hard to believe.

Examples

• “Her progress in six weeks was astonishing.”
• “The turnout on a wet Tuesday was astonishing.”
• “It is astonishing how quickly the rumour travelled.”

Good to know

Very surprising. Milder: surprising. Verb: astonish. Everyday: amazing (looser) / hard to believe.

Near in meaning

amazing

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