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Webster 1913 Edition

Amaze

A-maze′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Amazed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Amazing
.]
[Pref.
a-
+
maze
.]
1.
To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze.
[Obs.]
A labyrinth to
amaze
his foes.
Shakespeare
2.
To confound, as by fear, wonder, extreme surprise; to overwhelm with wonder; to astound; to astonish greatly.
“Amazing Europe with her wit.”
Goldsmith.
And all the people were
amazed
, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Matt. xii. 23.
Syn. – To astonish; astound; confound; bewilder; perplex; surprise.
–
Amaze
,
Astonish
. Amazement includes the notion of bewilderment of difficulty accompanied by surprise. It expresses a state in which one does not know what to do, or to say, or to think. Hence we are amazed at what we can not in the least account for. Astonishment also implies surprise. It expresses a state in which one is stunned by the vastness or greatness of something, or struck with some degree of horror, as when one is overpowered by the [GREEK]normity of an act, etc.

A-maze′

,
Verb.
I.
To be astounded.
[Archaic]
B. Taylor.

A-maze′

,
Verb.
T.
Bewilderment, arising from fear, surprise, or wonder; amazement.
[Chiefly poetic]
The wild, bewildered
Of one to stone converted by
amaze
.
Byron.

Webster 1828 Edition

Amaze

AMA'ZE

, v.t.
To confound with fear, sudden surprise, or wonder; to astonish.
They shall be afraid; they shall be amazed at one another. Is. 23.
They were all amazed and glorified God. Mark 2. Luke 5.
This word implies astonishment or perplexity, arising from something extraordinary, unexpected,unaccountable, or frightful.

AMA'ZE

,
Noun.
Astonishment; confusion; perplexity, arising from fear, surprise or wonder. It is chiefly used in poetry, and is nearly synonymous with amazement.

Definition 2024

amaze

amaze

English

Verb

amaze ‎(third-person singular simple present amazes, present participle amazing, simple past and past participle amazed)

  1. (obsolete) To stupefy; to knock unconscious. [13th-17th c.]
  2. (obsolete) To bewilder; to stupefy; to bring into a maze.
    • Shakespeare
      a labyrinth to amaze his foes
  3. (obsolete) To terrify, to fill with panic. [16th-18th c.]
    • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York Review Books 2001, p.261:
      [Fear] amazeth many men that are to speak or show themselves in public assemblies, or before some great personages […].
  4. To fill with wonder and surprise; to astonish, astound, surprise or perplex. [from 16th c.]
    He was amazed when he found that the girl was a robot.
    • Bible, Matthew xii. 23
      And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
    • Goldsmith
      Spain has long fallen from amazing Europe with her wit, to amusing them with the greatness of her Catholic credulity.
  5. (intransitive) To undergo amazement; to be astounded.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of B. Taylor to this entry?)

Related terms

Translations

Noun

amaze ‎(uncountable)

  1. (now poetic) Amazement, astonishment. [from 16th c.]
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.ii:
      All in amaze he suddenly vp start / With sword in hand, and with the old man went [...].
    • 1891, Mary Noailles Murfree, In the "Stranger People's" Country, Nebraska 2005, p. 103:
      Shattuck looked at him in amaze.
    • 1985, Lawrence Durrell, Quinx, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 1361:
      She took the proffered cheque and stared at it with puzzled amaze, dazed by her own behaviour.

Etymology

From Middle English amasen ‎(“to bewilder, perplex”), from Old English āmasian ‎(“to confuse, astonish”), from ā- ‎(perfective prefix) + *masian ‎(“to confound”), from *mæs ‎(“delusion, bewilderment”), from Proto-Germanic *mas-, *masōną ‎(“to confound, be weary, dream”), from Proto-Indo-European *mā- ‎(“to stupefy”). Akin to Old Norse masa ‎(“to struggle, be confused”), Ancient Greek μάτη ‎(mátē, “folly”), μέμαα ‎(mémaa, “I was eager”). More at automatic.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /əˈmeɪz/
  • Rhymes: -eɪz

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