flabbergast
flab·ber·gast/ˈflæbɚˌɡæst/verb, noun
flabbergast is spelled F-L-A-B-B-E-R-G-A-S-T: 11 letters and 3 syllables (flab·ber·gast). It appears about once in every 87 million words in written English, the 297,763rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, flabbergast means “To overwhelm with bewilderment; to amaze, confound, or stun, especially in a ludicrous manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in flabbergast?
| Letters | 11: F-L-A-B-B-E-R-G-A-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: flab·ber·gast |
| In writing | about once in every 87 million words; the 297,763rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is flabbergast?
Flabbergast appears about once in every 87 million words in written English, the 297,763rd 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 flabbergast?
- UK /ˈflæbə(ˌ)ɡɑːst/
- US /ˈflæbɚˌɡæst/
Flabbergast has 3 syllables, split flab·ber·gast in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-flabbergast.ogg, En-au-flabbergast.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of flabbergast
- flabbergasts present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- flabbergasting participle, present
- flabbergasted past, participle
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does flabbergast mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To overwhelm with bewilderment; to amaze, confound, or stun, especially in a ludicrous manner.
He was flabbergasted to find that his work had been done for him before he began.
noun
- 1
An awkward person.
- 2
Overwhelming confusion, shock, or surprise.
His flabbergast was so great he couldn’t even come up with a plausible answer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Flabbergast in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to overwhelm with bewilderment:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | époustoufler |
| German | verblüffen, erstaunen, baff sein, platt sein, abschnallen, aus allen Wolken fallen |
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 flabbergast come from?
The origin of the verb is uncertain; possibly dialectal (Suffolk), from flabby or flap (“to strike”) + aghast. The word may be related to Scottish flabrigast (“to boast”) or flabrigastit (“worn out with exertion”). The noun is derived from the verb.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).