amazed

1. 1
   adjective

   Filled with great surprise or wonder, sometimes mixed with fear, at something unexpected.

   Scientists were amazed at how quickly the species adapted to its new environment.

   He stood amazed before the sheer vastness of the canyon.

   Similarastonished, astounded, stunned, surprised, awestruck

   Oppositeunimpressed, unsurprised

   Note

   Shakespeare's word carried more alarm than ours. When a character in Cymbeline says "I am amazed with matter," the feeling is nearer to confounded, even stunned, than to delighted. The fear in that older meaning still lingers at the edges. The usual partner is at, which names what causes the surprise, as in A Midsummer Night's Dream: "I am amazed at your passionate words."

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of amaze.

   The discovery amazed researchers across the field.

   His sudden recovery amazed the doctors who had treated him.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs. It is the simple past (the news amazed them) and also the participle after have or be (it has amazed them; they were amazed). After be, the line with the adjective of astonishment blurs. A quick test helps: if more or very fits (more amazed), the word is acting as an adjective. If a doer follows with by and the sentence reports an action, it is the verb's passive.

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