as in to surprise
to make a strong impression on (someone) with something unexpected
she was bowled over to learn that she had a long-lost sister
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bowl over
Spread vegetables onto the hot sheet: Once the oven has preheated, carefully spread vegetables evenly over hot baking sheet, using a rubber spatula and scraping remaining olive oil and seasonings from bowl over vegetables.
—
Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 21 Nov. 2024
But there was one famous A-lister who wasn't necessarily bowled over by her charms: Oscar winner Morgan Freeman.
—Jeremy Helligar, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
In the end, Grassi was bowled over by Patinkin's dedication to the story and his performance.
—Madeleine Janz, People.com, 7 Jan. 2025
The lone bright spots were when Pacioretty bowled over Mavrik Bourque eight minutes in and when Tavares won a key puck battle that led to the empty-netter.
—Kevin Papetti, The Athletic, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bowl over 
Marianne Williams, Southern Living, 21 Nov. 2024
But there was one famous A-lister who wasn't necessarily bowled over by her charms: Oscar winner Morgan Freeman.
—Jeremy Helligar, People.com, 20 Oct. 2024
In the end, Grassi was bowled over by Patinkin's dedication to the story and his performance.
—Madeleine Janz, People.com, 7 Jan. 2025
The lone bright spots were when Pacioretty bowled over Mavrik Bourque eight minutes in and when Tavares won a key puck battle that led to the empty-netter.
—Kevin Papetti, The Athletic, 19 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bowl over
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bowl over
Verb
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In the end, Torres’ exhaustive devotion to detail proved effective in ways that surprised even her.—
Seth Abramovitch,
The Hollywood Reporter,
15 Feb. 2025
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The final scene of the final episode of Cobra Kai is a pitch-perfect callback to a scene in the original 1984 Karate Kid movie where Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) surprises Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) by catching a fly with his chopsticks.—
Breanne L. Heldman,
People.com,
15 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Chiefs didn’t amaze us on an every-game basis, not really, anyway.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
14 Feb. 2025
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The Met’s exhibition amazes in two contradictory ways: as a reappreciation of Rudolph’s artistry and as an assessment of his impact on the American city.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
2 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Father stunned when stranger pays his restaurant bill A dad having breakfast with his kids was amazed when a stranger out of nowhere took care of his bill.—
Christine Rousselle,
Fox News,
8 Feb. 2025
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They were stunned by the incandescence of her skin.—
Beth Landman,
The Hollywood Reporter,
8 Feb. 2025
Verb
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An Orange County teacher arrested last week for asking children to show their genitals was interviewed by law enforcement regarding the disappearance of Madeline Soto, the 13-year-old girl whose killing last year shocked Central Florida.—
Silas Morgan,
Orlando Sentinel,
11 Feb. 2025
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But then what happened next shocked the station execs who ran it and media buyers who approved the spot even more: West immediately flipped the website after the ad aired, replacing its previous content with just one item: A swastika T-shirt for sale, at $20 each.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
10 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The shocking roar of a vehicle’s engine can startle wildlife.—
Alexandra Owens,
AFAR Media,
10 Feb. 2025
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Jo explained that people with frequent views of auroras tended to draw more positive conclusions about them than those who may have been startled by the sight of them.—
Ari Daniel,
Smithsonian Magazine,
6 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Soto’s decision – and earnings – rocked the baseball world in December, especially in New York City.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
17 Feb. 2025
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Singapore, usually an oasis of stability, has been rocked by a series of political scandals in the past two years.—
Nicholas Yong,
New York Times,
17 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Understandably, the incident astonished both experts and the flying public.—
Gary Stix,
Scientific American,
30 Jan. 2025
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Cohn was particularly astonished by the work of Ferenc Szöllősi (opens a new tab), a Hungarian mathematician who intentionally started with a suboptimal arrangement of spheres in dimension four and built on it to match the best existing estimate in dimension five (opens a new tab).—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bowl over.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bowl%20over. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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