What's the difference between astonish and dismay?

Astonish


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To stun; to render senseless, as by a blow.
  • (v. t.) To strike with sudden fear, terror, or wonder; to amaze; to surprise greatly, as with something unaccountable; to confound with some sudden emotion or passion.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It is my desperate hope that we close out of town.” In the book, God publishes his own 'It Getteth Better' video and clarifies his original writings on homosexuality: I remember dictating these lines to Moses; and afterward looking up to find him staring at me in wide-eyed astonishment, and saying, "Thou do knowest that when the Israelites read this, they're going to lose their fucking shit, right?"
  • (2) To a supporter at the last election like me – someone who spoke alongside Nick Clegg at the curtain-raiser event for the party conference during the height of Labour's onslaught on civil liberties, and was assured privately by two leaders that the party was onside about civil liberties – this breach of trust and denial of principle is astonishing.
  • (3) It's that he habitually abuses his position by lobbying ministers at all; I've heard from former ministers who were astonished by the speed with which their first missive from Charles arrived, opening with the phrase: "It really is appalling".
  • (4) Puskas, possessed of a left foot of astonishing power, and his team colleagues, Sandor Kocsis and Zoltan Czibor, all found their way to Spain.
  • (5) Results of venous thrombectomies are particularly astonishingly good in phlegmasia coerulea and it is therefore mandatory to transfer all fresh cases of thrombosis of the deep veins of the peelvis and lower extremities to an angiologic center in order to differentiate cases for fibrinolytic therapy, from those which require surgical intervention.
  • (6) FWA chairman Andy Dunn said: "Those members who have been fortunate enough to be working at a match involving Luis Suárez have witnessed an astonishing talent first-hand.
  • (7) Even Corbyn’s fiercest critics have to concede he has achieved something astonishing.
  • (8) Recently released figures from the Veterans Administration on the number of Vietnam veterans who have been granted service connection in their claims for post-traumatic stress disorder appear to be astonishingly low, given the publicity that the media and mental health professionals have placed on this diagnosis in recent years.
  • (9) It is, in fact, quite astonishing to find British housebuilders and planners going along with the design and construction of such decent new homes.
  • (10) Over the past year, they’ve been to five continents and discovered an astonishing world of insect flavour.
  • (11) "The memorable 1961 British Home Championship yielded an astonishing 40 goals from six matches," writes Erik Kennedy.
  • (12) The complication rate was astonishingly low during IUSC: being only 4.3% (2 male patients, one with stricture of the urethra and epididymitis, one with autonomous dysreflexia with bladder overdistension).
  • (13) He added: “In the context of very surprising populist electoral successes in the US it would be astonishing if the BBC didn’t interview her.
  • (14) So how did Vanity Fair decide to illustrate this heartfelt and rather astonishing interview?
  • (15) Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, said he would be astonished if the coalition had not enacted a lobbyists' register and a power to recall errant MPs by 2015.
  • (16) At one point, Hodge said she was astonished that the secretary of state had claimed that Stephens had approved Smith's role.
  • (17) Individualism – the assertion of every person’s claim to maximised private freedom and the unrestrained liberty to express autonomous desires … became the leftwing watchword of the hour.” The result was an astonishing liberation: from millennia of social, gender and sexual control by powerful, mostly elderly men.
  • (18) She is fantastically clever and when she's on about ideas she is astonishing.
  • (19) The kinetic data obtained using lysine-containing model peptides as substrates indicate an astonishing similarity to mammalian lysyloxidase.
  • (20) "We are a struggling small business and I am astonished that banks are allowed to get away with handling their accounts in this way.

Dismay


Definition:

  • (v. i.) To disable with alarm or apprehensions; to depress the spirits or courage of; to deprive or firmness and energy through fear; to daunt; to appall; to terrify.
  • (v. i.) To render lifeless; to subdue; to disquiet.
  • (v. i.) To take dismay or fright; to be filled with dismay.
  • (v. t.) Loss of courage and firmness through fear; overwhelming and disabling terror; a sinking of the spirits; consternation.
  • (v. t.) Condition fitted to dismay; ruin.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) National newspapers and the BBC have joined forces to oppose Hague's secrecy application and on Friday expressed their dismay at the ruling.
  • (2) I scanned quickly through the available faces: there was one, all scrunched up in dismay about something or other.
  • (3) Brantly said he was first tested for malaria, but to his dismay, the results came back negative.
  • (4) Because the housing crisis goes far beyond us Focus E15 mums | Jasmin Stone Read more Annette May, 68, from Lambeth Annette May has watched with mounting dismay as the community fabric of the council estate where she has lived for 44 years steadily unravels.
  • (5) English speakers are the least optimistic about the chances of avoiding dangerous climate change Out of more than 6,000 self-selecting respondents, many expressed dismay at the slow pace of political action on climate change.
  • (6) "I feel gutted and dismayed but it's very important that we do everything we humanly can to protect vulnerable young people," Abbott told ABC radio.
  • (7) Leading figures in the social care sector have rushed to voice dismay at the feud.
  • (8) Chris Thomson, principal of Brighton, Hove and Sussex sixth form college What dismays me is the emphasis on qualifications rather than education.
  • (9) For all of this though, the visibility of people living on the streets can be shocking and it makes Perlman’s dismay wholly understandable.
  • (10) The Spanish family, who abandoned a private equity-backed takeover of National Express last month , was dismayed when National Express subsequently rejected a bid approach from Stagecoach, a rival public transport group.
  • (11) They’re dismayed because they’re seeing conservatives uniting behind our campaign.
  • (12) It was emphatically not, as the Tory right and the dismayed left have already concluded, evidence that Britain remains a fundamentally conservative country.
  • (13) It said it was "heavily dismayed to learn of the behaviour of Lee Trading with regard to the timely payment of its workers".
  • (14) I am dismayed at the terrible experience that Wafula Strike had … She is right to bring this matter to the department’s attention and I applaud her bravery for speaking openly about her experience.” The Paralympian condemned Stapleton’s experience: “It’s a real shame that what happened to me is still happening to other people.
  • (15) It dismays Kirk that Warp moved to London but he's still in touch with them and their releases, effusing particularly about DJ Mujava and "Township Funk".
  • (16) Suu Kyi's relationship with the generals has reportedly turned sour again In her tireless efforts to secure cooperation from the military, Suu Kyi has repeatedly expressed her appreciation, respect and “genuine” affection for the Tatmadaw (feudal military), which her father founded under Japan’s fascist patronage in December 1942, much to the dismay of many minorities who have borne the brunt of the organisation’s ruthless policies.
  • (17) Mark Malloch Brown, Britain's foreign office minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, expressed "dismay" over the law's impact on women's rights.
  • (18) We’ve maintained that commitment, but we have to make sure that we’re spending that money as effectively as possible.” The announcement will dismay some rightwing Conservatives, who fear it could push some wavering voters to Ukip.
  • (19) Hart respects the Argentinian but was dismayed to be sidelined for him.
  • (20) To the dismay of the Fostering Network and foster carers, however, there have been no moves to roll out the scheme nationally so that more of the 6,000 young people who leave care annually can opt to stay on in a supportive family environment.