These days, the word “amazing” is used pretty generously. But being truly amazed, according to Merriam-Webster, is to feel or show “great surprise or wonder.” We might experience this sense of surprise, wonder, or admiration when we encounter something that seems extraordinary, remarkable, or beyond what our usual frame of reference has taught us to expect.
As Feelings Wheel explains, amazement can arise in response to “nature, art, human ability, an unexpected act, a discovery, a result, or a complex idea.” It can be prompted by “novelty, excellence, beauty, scale, improbability, generosity, complexity, or a sudden expansion of your expectations.” In other words, something amazing can briefly change what we think is possible—or simply draw our attention to details we hadn’t noticed before.