astound

He added that "the power with which nature comes back astounds biologists", stressing how "extraordinarily resilient" animals, fish, sea life and plants are "if you just stop doing bad things to them."

More astounding, he managed to persuade Sondheim, the show’s lyricist, to regale an awe-struck high school drama club with anecdotes about his missteps.

Drifting between boiling anger and crushing regret, O’Brien’s delivery of a monologue to the ghost of Rocky astounds for its insides-bearing rawness.

That it immediately triggered the resignations of five other top CDC scientists in protest made it all the more astounding.

While some may recover, it's not a given – and the damage has astounded scientists.