How to Use astonish in a Sentence

astonish

verb
  • Despite the hype, there was nothing in the book to astonish readers.
  • The garden's beauty never fails to astonish.
  • He was astonished to see a home that was larger than his place of work.
    — Tina Daunt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2019
  • Philip watched, astonished and helpless, as his wife was wheeled away.
    — Ann Neumann, Harper's magazine, 10 June 2019
  • This place is going to astonish you.
    — ABC News, 28 June 2026
  • On your first visit here you may be astonished at the dark wooden booths.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2018
  • Rose missed his 6-foot putt and looked as astonished as if someone had stolen his car.
    — Mark Whicker, Orange County Register, 9 Apr. 2017
  • They are astonished that all this time, a swimmer was locked away inside of them.
    — Matt Grant, Longreads, 21 Aug. 2017
  • He was somewhat astonished by his wife’s passion for cats.
    — Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
  • Kuby added that he would be astonished if the gun had been destroyed outright.
    — Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2023
  • He was astonished and renewed by that quiet.
    — Stephen Trimble, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025
  • TikTok users were just as astonished by the views out the plane window as the poster was.
    — Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
  • Many owners have been astonished to see just how calm and well-behaved their pup is when there's no one else at home.
    — Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
  • The others come from flat-out surprises that will floor and astonish you.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2026
  • My husband took the news with grief, of course, but also astonishing grace.
    — Jessica Mattern, Country Living, 3 Jan. 2018
  • Her brashness astonished Lewis, who was riding in the back seat.
    — Penelope Green, BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2023
  • Volunteers were astonished by the language in some of the deeds.
    — Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 22 July 2025
  • While many around the country were astonished, Jackson was not.
    — Ross Dellenger, SI.com, 9 Sep. 2019
  • Even some fellow Olympians are astonished.
    — Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
  • Crude as the stagings may have been, much of the media was astonished by the spectacle.
    — Curbed, 21 June 2023
  • Learn what the market expects from people who have your dream job -- the answer might astonish you!
    — Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 23 Nov. 2021
  • She was astonished to open the mail and find handwritten notes from the Rivendell staff.
    — Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024
  • In one scene, Takashi is astonished to learn that his father had a fierce romantic streak.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 July 2024
  • Gadi Gvaryahu shakes his head, astonished by the cruelty of those words.
    — Dina Kraft, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 June 2018
  • Even with the help of garbage time, Notre Dame’s totals were astonishing.
    — David Wilson Diehards, ajc, 12 Nov. 2017
  • Just a list of the new operas since 2004 would astonish patrons from the old days.
    — Olin Chism, star-telegram.com, 2 May 2017
  • His work astonishes and moves people far beyond the fashion bubble to this day.
    — Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Their swift move into the capital astonished citizens and the rest of the world.
    — Antoinette Radford, CNN, 9 Dec. 2024
  • From space, the scale of the fires painfully evident, and astonishing.
    — John Borland, WIRED, 28 Aug. 2007
  • At last, from a side door in the hall, out walked the queen, who was astonished to find Sullivan dawdling in the shadows.
    — Amir-Hussein Radjy, New Republic, 6 July 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'astonish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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