astonishment Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the feeling that accompanies something extremely surprising
    amazement.
    • he looked at me in astonishment

WordNet

As*ton"ish*ment noun
Etymology
Cf. OF. estnnement, F. étonnement.
Definitions
  1. The condition of one who is stunned. Hence: Numbness; loss of sensation; stupor; loss of sense. Obs.
    A coldness and astonishment in his loins, as folk say. Holland.
  2. Dismay; consternation. Archaic Spenser.
  3. The overpowering emotion excited when something unaccountable, wonderful, or dreadful is presented to the mind; an intense degree of surprise; amazement.
    Lest the place And my quaint habits breed astonishment. Milton.
  4. The object causing such an emotion.
    Thou shalt become an astonishment. Deut. xxviii. 37.
    Syn. -- Amazement; wonder; surprise.

Webster 1913