astonishment
/əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/
astonishment · noun — the feeling or experience of being astonished; great surprise. It carries an Arena rating of 1639, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, astonishment ranks #1,452 of 17,136 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #2,780 of 17,135 for Most Beautiful Words, #3,629 of 17,136 for Most Elegant Words, #5,599 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
astonishment is pronounced /əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/.
Why “astonishment” is a great word
A state of being struck senseless by the sudden and incredible, a suspension of reason in the face of the overwhelming. From the verb *astonish* (from Middle English *astonien*, from Old French *estoner*, "to stun, daze, deafen," ultimately from Vulgar Latin *extonāre*, from Latin *ex-* ("out") + *tonāre* ("to thunder")) + the noun-forming suffix *-ment*. Unlike "surprise," a lighter, more momentary prick of the unexpected, or "awe," a deeper, often devotional dread before the sublime, astonishment is the thunderclap that leaves the mind vacant—a temporary deafness. It is the frozen moment when a magician produces the card you were certain you had destroyed, the wide eyes fixed on a feat deemed impossible, the breath caught and held at the edge of a precipice of understanding. It is the pure, blank canvas of the human psyche upon which wonder will later paint its intricate designs.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From astonish + -ment.
noun
- The feeling or experience of being astonished; great surprise.e.g.“The class looked on in astonishment as their teacher proceeded to tear the pages out of the textbook.”
- Something very surprising.e.g.“(colloquial)”
- Loss of physical sensation; inability to move a part of the body.e.g.“[…] there followeth astonishment of the leg that is neere, that it can neither be stretched out right, nor he cannot go on his feet.” — 1583, Philip Barrough, The Method of Phisicke, London: Thomas Vautroullier, Book 3, Chapter 37, p. 126:
- Loss of mental faculties, inability to think or use one's senses.e.g.“Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 60:3:
- Loss of composure or presence of mind.e.g.“[…] where of his cruell rage
Nigh dead with feare, and faint astonishment,
Shee found them both in darkesome corner pent;” — 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, pages 35-36:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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