əˈstänish, -ēsh, esp in pres part -əsh transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: probably from astony + -ish (as in abolish )
1. obsolete : to render senseless (as by a blow) : stun , paralyze , deaden
enough, Captain; you have astonished him — Shakespeare
2. obsolete : to stupefy the mind of : bewilder , daze , confuse
had his wits astonished with sorrow — Philip Sidney
blind, astonished, and struck with superstition as with a planet — John Milton
3. obsolete : to strike with sudden fear or dismay
that with the very shaking of their chains they may astonish these fell-lurking curs — Shakespeare
4. : to strike with a sudden sense of surprise or wonder especially through something unexpected or difficult to accept as true or reasonable : surprise greatly : amaze
was astonished to find a thick forest where in 1915 I had mowed thick grass with a scythe — S.H.Holbrook
astonished by the vastness and majesty of the cathedral
a gross desire to astonish his friends with his sudden wealth
the customs of non-European groups were treated as curios with which to astonish the uninformed — Ralph Linton
Synonyms: see surprise