Hypertext Webster Gateway: "astonishing"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Astonish \As*ton"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Astonished}; p. pr.
& vb. n. {Astonishing}.] [OE. astonien, astunian, astonen,
OF. estoner, F. ['e]tonner, fr. L. ex out + tonare to
thunder, but perhaps influenced by E. stun. See {Thunder},
{Astound}, {Astony}.]
1. To stun; to render senseless, as by a blow. [Obs.]

Enough, captain; you have astonished him. [Fluellen
had struck Pistol]. --Shak.

The very cramp-fish [i. e., torpedo] . . . being
herself not benumbed, is able to astonish others.
--Holland.

2. To strike with sudden fear, terror, or wonder; to amaze;
to surprise greatly, as with something unaccountable; to
confound with some sudden emotion or passion.

Musidorus . . . had his wits astonished with sorrow.
--Sidney.

I, Daniel . . . was astonished at the vision. --Dan.
viii. 27.

Syn: To amaze; astound; overwhelm; surprise.

Usage: {Astonished}, {Surprised}. We are surprised at what is
unexpected. We are astonished at what is above or
beyond our comprehension. We are taken by surprise. We
are struck with astonishment. --C. J. Smith. See
{Amaze}.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Astonishing \As*ton"ish*ing\, a.
Very wonderful; of a nature to excite astonishment; as, an
astonishing event.

Syn: Amazing; surprising; wonderful; marvelous.
{As*ton"ish*ing*ly}, adv. -- {As*ton"ish*ing*ness}, n.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

astonishing
adj 1: surprising greatly; "she does an amazing amount of work";
"the dog was capable of astonishing tricks" [syn: {amazing}]
2: so surprisingly impressive as to stun or overwhelm; "such an
enormous response was astonishing"; "an astounding
achievement"; "the amount of money required was
staggering"; "suffered a staggering defeat"; "the figure
inside the boucle dress was stupefying" [syn: {astounding},
{staggering}, {stupefying}]


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