verb

étonner

astonish · surprise · amaze

Faire ressentir de la surprise à quelqu’un.

Definition & meaning

Étonner is a French verb meaning to surprise, astonish, or amaze someone—to cause someone to feel surprise.

Cette nouvelle m’étonne. — “This news surprises me.”
In the reflexive form, s’étonner de means to be surprised at or to wonder at something: Elle s’étonne de son silence. — “She is surprised by his silence.”

Depending on context, it can describe mild surprise or strong amazement.

Grammar & Word origin

Étonner is a regular -er verb and is usually transitive: it takes the person or thing that is surprised as its direct object. Its reflexive form is s’étonner.

Historically, the verb comes from Old French estoner, from a Latin expression meaning “to strike like thunder.” The modern spelling should not be interpreted as a combination of é- and tonner (“to thunder”).

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms include:

surprendre — “to surprise”; a broad, neutral equivalent.
ébahir — “to astonish”; often suggests a stronger reaction of amazement.
stupéfier — “to astound” or “to dumbfound”; usually stronger and more dramatic.
impressionner — “to impress”; focuses on making a strong impression, not necessarily causing surprise.

There is no single exact antonym in every context. Possible opposites include:

rassurer — “to reassure”; the opposite when surprise involves alarm or uncertainty.
laisser indifférent — “to leave indifferent”; the opposite when something fails to provoke a reaction.