flabbergasted

English

WOTD – 30 October 2006

Alternative forms

• flabergasted, flabagasted, flambergasted

Etymology

Past tense of flabbergast.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈflæbə(ˌ)ɡɑːstəd/, /ˈflæbə(ˌ)ɡæstəd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈflæbɚˌɡæstəd/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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Adjective

flabbergasted (comparative more flabbergasted, superlative most flabbergasted)

1. Appalled, annoyed, exhausted or disgusted.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:astonished

   He was flabbergasted at how much weight he had gained.

   • 1858, Anthony Trollope, Doctor Thorne. […], volume II, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 25–26:

     ‘Hush-h-h-h-h!’ said Mr Nearthewinde, absolutely flabergasted by such imprudence on the part of one of his client's friends.

   • 1863, Charles Reade, Hard Cash‎^[1], Sampson Low, Son & Marston:

     This candid interpretation of his words knocked the defendant stupid. He made no reply, but looked utterly flabbergasted.

   • 1917, John Galsworthy, Beyond, Toronto: The Copp Clark Co., Limited, page 368:

     Much the same. Rather flabbergasted at seeing me, I think.

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[12]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     Begob he was what you might call flabbergasted.

   • 1952, Agnes Morley Cleaveland., Satan's Paradise: from Lucien Maxwell to Fred Lambert, Houghton-Mifflin:

     Maxwell made a lunge at his flabbergasted guest, who ducked just in time to escape the great hands reaching for him.

   • 2008, Dutch Sheets, Watchman Prayer: Keeping the Enemy Out While Protecting Your Family, Home, Gospel Light, page 57:

     From behind her paper, she was flabbergasted to see a neatly dressed man helping himself to her cookies.

   • 2014 August 16, BBC News, Why have tailgate parties not spread to the UK?‎^[2]:

     On his first encounter with tailgating in 2006, he was flabbergasted at the way rival fans mixed peaceably together at the parties. A Chicago Bears fan, he was warmly welcomed into a group of Arizona Cardinals fans and fed. "I was shocked and slightly worried. I thought they were going to poison me. It was just so odd."

   • 2020 March 7, Merran Hitchick, quoting Jenny Mikakos, “'Flabbergasted': Melbourne doctor with coronavirus symptoms continued seeing patients”, in The Guardian‎^[3], →ISSN:

     “I have to say I am flabbergasted that a doctor that has flu-like symptoms has presented to work,” [Jenny] Mikakos said.

2. (euphemistic, rare) Damned.

Derived terms

• flabbergastedly
• flabbergastedness
• unflabbergasted

Translations

appalled, annoyed, exhausted or disgusted

• Finnish: äimistynyt, kauhistunut (fi), tuohtunut (fi)
• French: sidéré (fr)
• Hungarian: elképedt (hu), döbbent (hu), megdöbbent (hu)

euphemistic: damned

• Finnish: hattuuntunut (fi)

Verb

flabbergasted

1. simple past and past participle of flabbergast

References

• Green, Jonathan (2005), Cassell's Dictionary of Slang‎^[4], Sterling Publishing Company, page 511

Anagrams

• gabberflasted