What does astonish mean?
Word: Astonish
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Astonish means to surprise someone very much.
Synonyms: surprise, stun
Antonyms: bore
How do you spell astonish?
Syllables: as - ton - ish
Tricky part: The vowel after the t is o, though it sounds weak. Children sometimes write an a there instead.
Watch out for: astanish, astonesh
Memory tip: Think of the o in astonish as a mouth opened wide in surprise.
Astonish in a sentence
Example 1: The magician astonished us by pulling a pigeon from his hat.
Example 2: Her score of 100 astonished the whole class.
Example 3: The speed of the cheetah astonished the visitors.
Fun Fact
Astonish goes back to a Latin word for thunder, tonare. An astonished person was once thought of as thunderstruck.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word:
astonish
a) annoy
b) amaze
c) tire
d) scare
Show answer
b) amaze. Both astonish and amaze mean to surprise greatly.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
hsitnosa
a) astonihs
b) astoinsh
c) astonsih
d) astonish
Show answer
d) astonish. It starts with as, like astronaut, and ends in ish.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The tiny puppy's loud bark would astonnish anyone who heard it.
a) puppy's
b) loud
c) astonnish
d) heard
Show answer
c) astonnish. Astonish has a single n, as in finish.
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
astonish
a) meant
b) mint
c) ment
d) mant
Show answer
c) ment. Astonish takes ment, the same ending as in excitement.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What would most likely astonish a cricket crowd?
a) the umpire checking the ball
b) a batter walking out to take guard
c) the players stopping for drinks
d) a batter hitting six sixes in an over
Show answer
d) a batter hitting six sixes in an over
2. Pick the sentence where astonished fits best.
a) Mira was astonished that nothing new had happened.
b) Mira was astonished when her shy brother sang on stage.
c) Mira was astonished, so she yawned and fell asleep.
d) Mira was astonished because the day was so ordinary.
Show answer
b) Mira was astonished when her shy brother sang on stage.
