as ‧ ton ‧ ish /əˈstɒnɪʃ $ əˈstɑː-/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: astone 'to astonish' (14-17 centuries) (from Old French estoner , from Vulgar Latin extonare , from Latin tonare 'to thunder' ) + -ish (as in abolish ) ]
to surprise someone very much SYN amaze :
Her reply astonished me.
It astonished him that she had changed so little.
What astonishes me most is his complete lack of fear.
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THESAURUS
▪ surprise to make someone feel surprised, especially because they did not expect something:
Her reaction surprised me – I didn’t realize how strongly she felt.
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What surprised me was how cheap everything was compared to at home.
▪ amaze to greatly surprise someone, for example because something is very good, unusual, or hard to believe:
He amazed everyone with his skill.
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It amazes me that no one has thought of the idea before.
▪ astonish to greatly surprise someone:
Myra astonished her doctors by recovering so quickly.
▪ astound to greatly surprise or shock someone. Astound sounds a little more formal and a little stronger than astonish :
What astounded him was their inefficiency.
▪ take somebody by surprise to happen at an unexpected time, so that people are surprised or unprepared:
Security men were taken by surprise as the man ran onto the stage.
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His resignation took us by surprise.
▪ startle to make someone feel surprised or slightly frightened by doing something they did not expect:
The wind made the door shut with a crash, which startled her.
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Sudden movements may startle the horse.