- Today's Word
Awestruck
[AW-struk]
Definition
- (noun) To overwhelm someone with an impressive display or experience, leaving them in a state of wonder and admiration. It’s when you cause someone to be so amazed that they’re momentarily speechless or frozen in place.
Example
The street performer’s incredible magic trick completely awestruck the crowd, leaving everyone wide-eyed and open-mouthed for several seconds.
Fun Fact
The word “awestruck” combines “awe” with “struck,” capturing the idea of being hit by a sense of wonder. Neuroscientific research has shown that experiencing awe can have positive effects on the brain and body. A study in the journal “Emotion” found that awe-inspiring experiences can lower levels of cytokines, proteins that signal inflammation in the body. This suggests that being awestruck may have tangible health benefits, potentially reducing the risk of depression and autoimmune diseases.
(adjective) Characterized by a narrow-minded focus on one’s own group or environment; closed off to outside ideas or perspectives.
The company’s insular culture — promoting only from within, dismissing outside perspectives, and treating change as a threat — had quietly calcified into the biggest obstacle to its own growth.
Insular derives from the Latin insularis, meaning “of an island,” from insula — “island.” It entered English in the 17th century with its literal meaning of relating to islands before quickly acquiring its figurative sense of the psychological condition associated with island life — a worldview bounded by water on all sides, self-contained, and instinctively resistant to what lies beyond the shoreline. The British, as an island nation, have had a complicated relationship with the word ever since.