Amazed

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈmeɪzd/

Definitions

1. Experiencing overwhelming shock or awe in response to something striking or unforeseen
2. Being filled with wonder and disbelief when encountering something remarkable or startling
3. Feeling a strong sense of surprise and admiration caused by something unexpected

Etymology: The verb behind "amazed" is older than it looks, and its original sense was closer to "bewildered" than to "wowed." Middle English "amasen" meant "to bewilder, perplex," and it descends from Old English "āmasian," meaning "to confuse, astonish," built from the intensifying prefix ā- and a verb "masian" meaning "to confound, confuse." Speakers therefore felt the word as a kind of mental fog, a state of being thoroughly muddled, before it came to mean the pleasant astonishment we now associate with it. The link to "maze" is what makes this clearer. English took the intensifying prefix a- and attached it to "maze," which once also meant "to astonish, bewilder, or daze." So "amaze" is essentially "to thoroughly maze," to throw someone into a confused, stunned state. The verb "maze" has faded from everyday use, but it survives in this word, carrying the original sense of disorientation.

Synonyms: astonished, astounded, surprised, stunned, flabbergasted

Antonyms: unimpressed, bored, indifferent