verwondert

Verwondert is the present-tense form of the Dutch verb verwonderen, meaning to astonish or to surprise. It is the third-person singular form, used with he, she, or a singular noun, and translates as “astonishes” or “surprises.” The infinitive verwonderen denotes the general act of causing astonishment.

Etymology and related forms: verwonderen is built from the stem wonder (in Dutch, wonderen) with the prefix ver-, which often adds a causative or intensive sense. The root wonder is cognate with English wonder. The past participle is verwonderd, used in perfect tense (het heeft hem verwonderd – it has astonished him) and can also function as an adjective meaning “astonished” (verouderde or more common form is verwonderd).

Usage: Verwondert follows regular Dutch verb conjugation for a weak verb in the present tense. It takes a direct object to indicate what is astonished: “Zijn optreden verwondert het publiek” (His performance astonishes the audience). It can also take a clause as a subject: “Het verwondert me dat hij te laat is” (It astonishes me that he is late). The noun form verwondering means “astonishment” or “the act of astonishment.”

See also and notes: Verwondert is distinct from verwonden (to wound) and from the German equivalents, which look similar but belong to a different language family. Verwondering is a common noun corresponding to the emotion or act of astonishment in Dutch. In usage, verwondert is relatively formal and can appear in literary or journalistic Dutch alongside more everyday synonyms such as verbaasd or verrast depending on tone.