English Reference

Word

flabbergasted

Phoneticsflab·ber·gast·ed

US/ˈfɫæbɝˌɡæstɪd/

UK/flˈæbəɡˌɑːstɪd/

Definition

adj. feeling very surprised or shocked. You use this when something happens that is so unexpected it leaves you speechless.

adj. extremely surprised or shocked; overwhelmed by a sudden realization. Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'be' or 'look'.

Examples

“I was flabbergasted when I saw the final bill.”

“The audience was flabbergasted by the magician's ability to escape the locked trunk in record time.”

“The scientific community was flabbergasted by the data, which suggested that the fundamental laws of physics might behave differently at the quantum level than previously observed.”

Examples

simple

“I was flabbergasted when I saw the final bill.”

contextual

“The audience was flabbergasted by the magician's ability to escape the locked trunk in record time.”

complex

“The scientific community was flabbergasted by the data, which suggested that the fundamental laws of physics might behave differently at the quantum level than previously observed.”

Real-World Examples

“Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says he is "flabbergasted" that "serious knife and firearm offenders" are freed on bail "again and again".”
BBC News · 4 Sept 2026
“I am often flabbergasted when I think about how humans came to develop such complex culinary skills.”
The Guardian · 9 Apr 2013

Etymology

Past tense of flabbergast.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/flabbergasted

English Reference