amaze
/əˈmeɪz/verb, adjective
amaze is spelled A-M-A-Z-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, amaze means “To fill (someone) with surprise and wonder; to astonish, to astound, to surprise” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in amaze?
| Letters | 5: A-M-A-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is amaze?
Amaze appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce amaze?
- US /əˈmeɪz/
Amaze has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-amaze.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with amaze?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as amaze from its last stressed vowel (/eɪz/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of amaze
- amazes present, singular, he/she/it
- amazing participle, present
- amazed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- more amaze comparative
- most amaze superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does amaze mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To fill (someone) with surprise and wonder; to astonish, to astound, to surprise.
He was amazed when he found that the girl was a robot.
- 2
obsoleteTo stun or stupefy (someone).
- 3
obsoleteTo bewilder or perplex (someone or oneself).
- 4
obsoleteTo fill (someone) with panic; to panic, to terrify.
- 5
archaicTo experience amazement; to be astounded.
noun
- 1
archaicAmazement, astonishment; (countable) an instance of this.
- 2
archaicFear, terror.
- 3
obsoleteStupefaction of the mind; bewilderment; (countable) an instance of this.
adjective
- 1
slangClipping of amazing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Amaze in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to fill (someone) with surprise and wonder – see also astonish:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | stupéfier |
| German | verwundern |
| Portuguese | espantar, surpreender |
| Spanish | asombrar, pasmar, sorprender |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does amaze come from?
The verb is derived from Middle English *amasen, *amase (“to bewilder, perplex”) (attested chiefly in the past participle form, and thus often difficult to distinguish from amased (adjective)), from Old English āmasian (“to confuse, astonish”), from ā- (perfective prefix) + *masian (“to confound, confuse, perplex; to amaze”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)). The English word is analysable as a- (intensifying prefix) + maze (“(archaic) to astonish, amaze, bewilder; to daze, stupefy”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).