How to pronounce "astonish" in English
əˈstɒnɪʃ
ə·STO·nish
Primary stress: STO
Hear native speakers say astonish in context across real video clips
deceptions Motion Pictures are themselves in illusion of Life produced by the sequential projection of still frames and they astonish the lumier brothers early audiences even today's sophisticated movie goers still lose
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “astonish”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
ə
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
STO
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
nish
Neutral schwa (⁄ə⁄): relaxed jaw, brief unstressed breath.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("STO"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels.
How Native Speakers Say It: Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When "astonish" is followed by a word starting with a vowel, glide the final consonant into the opening vowel (e.g. "astonish is" sounds like "astonish-iz").
Maintain the stress-timed rhythm of English: compress unstressed syllables rapidly so the beat of "astonish" aligns naturally with adjacent words.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“by the sequential projection of still frames and they astonish the lumier”— TED-EdWatch clip
“astonish the heartbeat that is ambrose's out astonishes it”— Harvard UniversityWatch clip
“So they astonish with the act of creation.”— YaleCoursesWatch clip
“And um it would astonish her contemporaries.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“artist at the heart of this artists with the unique power to astonish Challenge and surprise in this program American”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“1987 astonish me pal new info I don't care where or how you get it cell phones”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
Practice Speaking “astonish”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
by the sequential projection of still frames and they astonish the lumier
Hear it in context: “astonish”
63 clipsThe English word “astonish” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as əˈstɒnɪʃ (phonetic respelling: ə-STO-nish). Phonologically, it consists of 3 syllables (ə · STO · nish), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (STO). Grammatically, “astonish” functions as a verb. SayItVid indexes 63 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “astonish” in natural connected speech across American (US: 8 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TED-Ed, Harvard University, YaleCourses.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (5 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTED-EdClip #1 · @0:48
“deceptions Motion Pictures are themselves in illusion of Life produced by the sequential projection of still frames and they astonish the lumier brothers early audiences even today's sophisticated movie goers still lose”
- 🇺🇸 USHarvard UniversityClip #2 · @98:03
“wasn't likely unlike wasn't that an impact that is ambrose's must out astonish the heartbeat that is ambrose's out astonishes it that dreaming by fleeing feeling I had my feets stuck stepping in another's”
- 🇺🇸 USYaleCoursesClip #3 · @16:30
“appearance and sounds or noises. So they astonish with the act of creation. I mean, the creator of these Baroque pranks is boasting of”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #4 · @3:59
“It's just one of the things she discovered. And um it would astonish her contemporaries. Uh this is a cartoon which was published in 1830.”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #5 · @0:18
“industry in its own right brilliant ideas looks at the artist at the heart of this artists with the unique power to astonish Challenge and surprise in this program American and surprise in this program American”
Definition & Meaning: “astonish”
- To surprise greatly.
Example Sentences (3)
- “"I have no right to give my opinion," said Wickham, "as to his being agreeable or otherwise. I am not qualified to form one. I have known him too long and too well to be a fair judge. It is impossible for me to be impartial. But I believe your opinion of him would in general astonish — and perhaps you would not express it quite so strongly anywhere else. Here you are in your own family."”
- “by the sequential projection of still frames and they astonish the lumier”
- “astonish the heartbeat that is ambrose's out astonishes it”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “astonish”
- Pronunciation:
- ə-STO-nish
- Syllables:
- ə · STO · nish
- Written Hyphenation:
- as · ton · ish
- Primary stress:
- STO
- IPA:
- əˈstɒnɪʃ
- Hear it in context
- astonish
Synonyms: “astonish”
Hear words related in meaning to “astonish” in real video clips:
Words that Rhyme with “astonish”
-ɒnɪʃWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"astonish" (⁄əˈstɒnɪʃ⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "astonish" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about astonish
How do you pronounce “astonish”?
“astonish” is pronounced ⁄əˈstɒnɪʃ⁄ (ə-STO-nish). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “astonish”?
“astonish” has 3 syllables: ə · STO · nish.
Where is the stress in “astonish”?
The primary stress in “astonish” is on “STO”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “astonish” mean?
To surprise greatly.
How can I hear “astonish” used in real sentences?
This page has 63 real-world video examples of “astonish” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “astonish”?
Avoid pronouncing every vowel with full acoustic weight. Non-native speakers often over-enunciate unstressed vowels. Only give full vowel clarity to the primary stressed syllable. Relax all unstressed vowels into a neutral, low-energy schwa (⁄ə⁄).