Astounding
adj.joyful, capablewarm
What it means
Overwhelmingly impressive or surprising in scale or quality.
Reach for it when reserving emphatic praise for a result that overturns normal expectations
The youth orchestra made astounding progress during the summer.
Choose between these
6- playful
informal excitement outweighs literal precision
not when Incredible literally questions believability and can undermine a factual claim.
- everyday
immediate impact briefly stops the audience
not when Stunning often praises appearance and can be too visual for measured progress.
- warm
great surprise remains the main response
not when Astonishing can emphasize unexpectedness without astounding's sense of magnitude.
- warm
performance is exceptionally strong
not when Phenomenal is promotional and may sound inflated without a benchmark.
- professional
overwhelming
the scale exceeds ordinary capacity to respond
not when Overwhelming can be burdensome or negative and does not itself praise.
- literary
quantity, effort, or ability is exceptionally great
not when Prodigious is conspicuous vocabulary and fits magnitude better than beauty.
Said against
3- unremarkable
- expected
- underwhelming
It naturally appears in
3- astounding success
The vaccination drive achieved astounding success in remote districts.
- astounding amount
Volunteers cleared an astounding amount of debris before noon.
- absolutely astounding
The restored mosaic is absolutely astounding at close range.