astounded

adjective

as·​tound·​ed ə-ˈstau̇n-dəd 

: feeling or showing great surprise or wonder : astonished, amazed

was astounded to hear the news

We were too astounded to speak. We could only stand there staring in amazement.

—Arthur Conan Doyle

Synonyms

• amazed
• astonished
• awestruck
• awestricken
• bowled over
• dumbfounded
• dumfounded
• dumbstruck
• flabbergasted
• shocked
• stunned
• stupefied
• thunderstruck

Examples of astounded in a Sentence

were astounded to realize that we were holding the winning lottery ticket

the astounded look on the tourists' faces when the police ordered them to leave the country immediately

Recent Examples on the Web

Last summer, North Carolina locals were astounded by a rare but entirely natural phenomenon that caused the ocean along the Crystal Coast to sparkle with a brilliant blue radiance that folks previously only associated with places like the Bahamas or Turks and Caicos. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 3 Feb. 2025

Internet users were astounded by the new and improved look, which has led to an overwhelming positive response. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025

The Watch What Happens Live host proceeded to ask about the current season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills while Cooper, 57, was astounded by Hamm's deep knowledge of the reality TV franchise. —Marina Watts, People.com, 1 Jan. 2025

The sobbing in some of the interviews has left spectators a bit astounded. —Daniel D'addario, Variety, 2 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

originally doubled past participle of astonen, astonien "to stun, daze, surprise" — more at astonish

First Known Use

circa 1540, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for astounded

• abounded
• compounded
• confounded
• expounded
• foregrounded
• impounded
• propounded
• rebounded
• resounded
• subrounded
• surrounded
• unbounded