amaze

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb affect with wonder
  2. verb be a mystery or bewildering to

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English *amasen, *amase (“to bewilder, perplex”) (attested chiefly in the past participle form, and thus often difficult to distinguish from amased (adjective)), from Old English āmasian (“to confuse, astonish”), from ā- (perfective prefix) + *masian (“to confound, confuse, perplex; to amaze”) (possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)meh₂- (“to beckon, signal”)). The English word is analysable as a- (intensifying prefix) + maze (“(archaic) to astonish, amaze, bewilder; to daze, stupefy”). The noun is derived from Late Middle English amase, from the verb: see above.

In classic literature

Synonyms

astonish, astound

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