astonishment

/əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/

//əˈstɒnɪʃmənt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"astonishment" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“astonishment” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,386. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,386
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The feeling or experience of being astonished; great surprise.

Corpus desk

Index EN-astonishment · astonishment · English

astonishment · rank #34,386 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,386
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH astonishingly

Nearest frequency peer: astonishingly (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “astonishment”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “astonishment” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for astonishment
PropertyValue
Headwordastonishment
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/
Letters12
Frequency rank#34,386
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “astonishment”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).astonishmentlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “astonishingly” (#34,385), “atone” (#34,387), “asm” (#34,384). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “astonishment” is #34,386. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around astonishment (IPA /əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,386 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for astonishment, with forms such as "asotnishment", "asstonishment", and "astnoishment". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From astonish + -ment. The correct English form is astonishment, spelled A-S-T-O-N-I-S-H-M-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    The feeling or experience of being astonished; great surprise.
  2. 2
    Something very surprising.
  3. 3
    Loss of physical sensation; inability to move a part of the body.
  4. 4
    Loss of mental faculties, inability to think or use one's senses.
  5. 5
    Loss of composure or presence of mind.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how astonishment appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The class looked on in astonishment as their teacher proceeded to tear the pages out of the textbook.
  2. 1630, John Milton, “On Shakespear” in Poems of Mr. John Milton, London: Ruth Raworth, 1645 p. 27, Thou in our wonder and astonishment Hast built thy self a live-long Monument.

Etymology

From astonish + -ment.

This word in other languages

asombro(Español)étonnement(Français)Staunen(Deutsch)surpresa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asotnishment
  • asstonishment
  • astnoishment
  • astoinshment
  • astonihsment
  • astonishemnt
  • astonishhment
  • astonishmennt
  • astonishmentt
  • astonishmetn
  • astonishmment
  • astonishmnet
  • astonismhent
  • astonisshment
  • astonnishment
  • astonsihment
  • asttonishment
  • atsonishment
  • satonishment

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of astonishment - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

asotnishment2asstonishment1astnoishment2astoinshment2astonihsment2astonishemnt2astonishhment1astonishmennt1
Edit distance from "astonishment"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "astonishment"?
"astonishment" is spelled A-S-T-O-N-I-S-H-M-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/.
What does "astonishment" mean?
As a noun, "astonishment" means: The feeling or experience of being astonished; great surprise.
What are common misspellings of "astonishment"?
Common misspellings include "asotnishment", "asstonishment", "astnoishment", "astoinshment", "astonihsment". The correct spelling is "astonishment".
How do you pronounce "astonishment"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "astonishment" is /əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "astonishment"?
From astonish + -ment. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "astonishment", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bloodthirsty#34,400adaptability#34,365unchallenged#34,331turbocharged#34,329

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

compositional19 variantsencroachment19 variantsposthumously19 variantspigmentation19 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list