amaze
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++a·maze /əˈmeɪz/ ●●○ verb [transitive] SURPRISEDto surprise someone very much 使大为惊奇，使惊愕 SYN astonish Dave amazed his friends by suddenly getting married. 戴夫突然结婚，令朋友们非常吃惊。it amazes somebody how/what/that It still amazes me how much she has improved. 她进步很大，至今仍让我惊讶。 It never ceased to amaze him that women were attracted to Sam. 他一直很惊讶，竟然有女人喜欢萨姆。→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
amaze• The mound of coins continues to grow as the little Kool Aid tycoons and garbage financiers continue to amaze and to amass.• But my children were as amazed at this strange petrel with its eerie call as I had hoped they would be.• Frye never ceased to be amazed by how little they knew, how unfamiliar they were with the basic routines of school.• Dave amazed his friends by leaving a well-paid job to travel around the world.• It amazes me that no-one has thought of the idea sooner.• Never before had she wielded words of such force; she spoke to hurt, but was amazed when she succeeded.• Some kids will amaze you with what they can do.It never ceased to amaze• It never ceased to amaze her how much smaller everything seemed to her now adult eyes.• It never ceased to amaze him that women seemed to like Sam.• It never ceased to amaze me how he could do it.• It never ceased to amaze me to watch soldiers head right for these places.Origin amaze Old English amasian, from an unrecorded masian “to confuse”a·maze verbChineseSyllable
very much surprise someone to Corpus
amaze
a‧maze /əˈmeɪz/
verb [transitive]
SYN astonish:
Dave amazed his friends by suddenly getting married.
it amazes somebody how/what etc
It still amazes me how much she has improved.
amaze that
It never ceased to amaze him that women were attracted to Sam.
▪ surprise to make someone feel surprised, especially because they did not expect something: Her reaction surprised me – I didn’t realize how strongly she felt. | What surprised me was how cheap everything was compared to at home.
▪amaze to greatly surprise someone, for example because something is very good, unusual, or hard to believe: He amazed everyone with his skill. | It amazes me that no one has thought of the idea before.
▪astonish to greatly surprise someone: Myra astonished her doctors by recovering so quickly.
▪astound to greatly surprise or shock someone. Astound sounds a little more formal and a little stronger than astonish: What astounded him was their inefficiency.
▪take somebody by surprise to happen at an unexpected time, so that people are surprised or unprepared: Security men were taken by surprise as the man ran onto the stage. | His resignation took us by surprise.
▪startle to make someone feel surprised or slightly frightened by doing something they did not expect: The wind made the door shut with a crash, which startled her. | Sudden movements may startle the horse.
a‧maze /əˈmeɪz/
verb [transitive] Language: Old English
Origin: amasian, from an unrecorded masian 'to confuse'
to surprise someone very much Origin: amasian, from an unrecorded masian 'to confuse'
SYN astonish:
it amazes somebody how/what etc
amaze that
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surprise to give sb the feeling that you get when sth happens that you do not expect or do not understand, or sth that you do expect does not happen; to make sb feel surprised 指使惊奇、使诧异、使感到意外 ：◆ The outcome didn't surprise me at all. 这一结果完全在我的意料之中。 startle to surprise sb suddenly in a way that slightly shocks or frightens them 指惊吓、使吓一跳、使大吃一惊 ：◆ Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. 对不起，我不是存心要吓唬你。 ◆ The explosion startled the horse. 爆炸声使马受了惊。 amaze to surprise sb very much 指使惊奇、使惊愕、使惊诧 ：◆ Just the huge size of the place amazed her. 仅仅地方之大就使她十分惊奇。 stun ( (often in newspapers) to surprise or shock sb so much that they cannot think clearly or speakrather
（常用于报章）指使震惊、使惊愕、使目瞪口呆 astonish to surprise sb very much 指使十分惊讶、使大为惊奇 ：◆ The news astonished everyone. 这消息使大家十分惊讶。
amaze or astonish? 用 amaze 还是 astonish？
take sb aback [ （尤指不好的事）使大吃一惊、使震惊 ：◆ We were rather taken aback by her hostile reaction. 她敌视的反应使我们大吃一惊。 astound to surprise or shock sb very much 指使震惊、使大惊 ：◆ His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
Patterns
It surprises sb/startles sb/amazes sb/stuns sb/astonishes sb/takes sb aback/astounds sbto surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound sb that… to surprise/amaze sb what/how… to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound sb to know/find/learn/see/hear… to be surprised/startled/stunned into (doing) sth