astonishing

adjective

as·​ton·​ish·​ing ə-ˈstä-ni-shiŋ How to pronounce astonishing (audio)
: causing a feeling of great surprise or wonder : surprising
an astonishing discovery
astonishingly adverb

Examples of astonishing in a Sentence

He showed an astonishing lack of concern for others. The truck can hold an astonishing amount of stuff. She gave an astonishing performance in her first film.
Recent Examples on the Web But, in the years since, an astonishing number of copycats—Thirst, FiiZ, Sodalicious, Quench It!, to name a few—have cropped up all over the state. Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2024 Just as astonishing was his claim of how close the vehicle was to becoming a reality. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 18 Oct. 2024 What has been your secret sauce for having this career and being almost 93 years old? Isn’t that astonishing? Marc Malkin, Variety, 15 Oct. 2024 The city has seen solid growth in transportation, mobility and fintech startups during the last three years with AI and deep tech supercharged by an astonishing 56 universities. Stephen Armstrong, WIRED, 14 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for astonishing 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'astonishing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of astonish

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of astonishing was in 1593

Dictionary Entries Near astonishing

Cite this Entry

“Astonishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astonishing. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

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