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Glite Dictionary
ye gods

ye gods

1 9.9
An old expression showing surprise or shock
  • idiom
  • Archaic
translation icon : ¡Dios mío!
  • Ye gods!

Examples

Synonyms

wow
vsye gods
  • Informal
∞ 1.0

A short word people say to show surprise or admiration

is used also for disbelief as well as calm astonishment
what the heck
vsye gods
  • Informal
90 8.9

A short cry to show surprise, confusion, disbelief, or casual acceptance

is more neutral wonder or amazement rather than a confused reaction
good God
vsye gods
  • Informal
35 8.2

An exclamation that shows strong surprise or shock

is a broader exclamation for surprise or amazement rather than dismay
golly
vsye gods
  • Archaic
24 9.9

A word people say to show mild surprise

is a broader exclamation for surprise disbelief or strong amazement
goodness me
vsye gods
  • Archaic
9 7.7

A short phrase people say to show surprise, shock, or admiration

is more general and can express disbelief or strong amazement
holy cow
vsye gods
  • Informal
8 7.6

A short phrase people say to show surprise or disbelief

is used for general surprise and astonishment beyond mere disbelief
goodness gracious
vsye gods
  • Archaic
5 7.5

A short phrase people say to show surprise or shock

is broader and also covers stronger disbelief or stronger amazement
holy crap
vsye gods
  • Offensive
3 9.6

To say when you are very surprised or shocked

can be used for milder surprise or disbelief without heavy shock
begod
vsye gods
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A short old word people say to show surprise or strong feeling

is a general surprise exclamation that avoids explicit deity reference
in thunderation
vsye gods
  • Archaic
9.9

Said to show surprise or doubt

covers amazement as well as disbelief rather than only disbelief
holy buckets
vsye gods
  • Informal
9.9

A short shout that shows surprise or shock

is more general and can also signal disbelief or amazement
holy doodle
vsye gods
  • Informal
9.9

A word people say to show strong surprise

is used for surprise that can also involve disbelief or shock
egads
vsye gods
  • Archaic
9.9

An old-fashioned shout said to show surprise or shock

is a general surprise exclamation rather than an old fashioned form

How Surprised

wow
  • Informal
∞ 1.0
goodness gracious
  • Archaic
5 7.5
ye gods
  • Archaic
1 9.9
oh
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

ye gods main

Morphology

ye + god

The phrase literally addresses the gods ("ye" = "you" + "gods") to express shock, so its emotive meaning is closely related to the constituent meanings and similar construction exists cross-linguistically. However, the archaic pronoun "ye" and the fixed interjectional/vocative use make the expression somewhat literary and not fully predictable for a B1 learner, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The exclamation ye gods comes from people long ago calling on the gods in shock: ye was an old way to talk to someone and gods means the gods themselves. So saying ye gods was like shouting 'oh, you gods!' and it is still used today to show 'surprise' or 'amazement'.