astonishment

Definitions

astonish + -ment (state) = 'the state of being astonished.' astonish itself comes from Latin ex- + tonāre ('to thunder out'), via Old French estoner — to be astonished is to be thunderstruck, stunned as if a bolt cracked beside you. This is the thunder branch of ton, not the pitch branch.

Why It Means This

The link to thunder is the whole story. Latin tonāre meant 'to thunder'; extonāre meant to be struck dumb by a thunderclap. Centuries on, the literal bolt faded, but the image of being frozen by a sudden shock survived perfectly — astonishment is being thunderstruck inside.

Common Collocations

• 1.to my astonishment令我惊讶的是
• 2.great astonishment极大的惊讶
• 3.in astonishment惊愕地
• 4.look of astonishment惊讶的神情

Example Sentences

• 1.

  To my astonishment, she had finished the whole project overnight.

• 2.

  He stared at the bill in open astonishment.

• 3.

  There were gasps of astonishment when the winner was announced.