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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Then to be promoted to the summer tour party and, on top of that, trusted to perform in adult matches with a significant audience and unstoppable level of attention is astonishing. Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025 Well, the bolt is an astonishing 515 miles (829 kilometers) long. Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 31 July 2025 The result, unsurprisingly, is a lightning-fast processor with astonishing performance in tasks that can take advantage of all these threads. PC Magazine, 30 July 2025 She was rescued from a shelter specializing in pit bulls, but as the weeks passed and Ripley began to grow at an astonishing rate, her features sparked curiosity and a DNA test—which ultimately revealed an unexpected genetic makeup, shocking viewers in a post to Reddit. Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for astonishing

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

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Cite this Entry

“Astonishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astonishing. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.

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