English Dictionary

Definition of “stun”

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stun (stʌnPronunciation for stun) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: stuns, stunning, stunned
(tr)
  1. to render unconscious, as by a heavy blow or fall
  2. to shock or overwhelm
  3. to surprise or astound

noun

  1. the state or effect of being stunned

Word Origin

C13 stunen,  from Old French estoner  to daze, stupefy, from Vulgar Latin extonāre  (unattested), from Latin ex-C13 from Old French to daze, stupefy, from Vulgar Latin (unattested), from Latin 1 + to thunder + tonāre to thunder

Synonyms

View thesaurus entry
= overcome, shock, amaze, confuse, astonish, stagger, bewilder, astound, overpower, confound, stupefy, strike (someone) dumb knock (someone) for six dumbfound, flabbergast, hit (someone) like a ton of bricks take (someone's) breath away
= daze, knock out, stupefy, numb, knock unconscious benumb,

Usage examples

  • `The moment you hear the bang from the stun grenade, you go in through the kitchen door.
    MacNeill, Alastair, The Devil's Door (1994)
  • And Brian Wood of Amnesty International says the long-range stun guns could "inflict pain and other suffering on innocent bystanders".
    New Scientist (2004)
  • When detectives raided a room in the hotel they found a stun gun in the bag.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • At least a stun gun, which may have prevented Mr Pennington's death.
    Sun, News of the World (2000)
  • He could have dropped tear gas or stun grenades -- the Black Hawks dropped them on journalists all the time for fun.
    Aidan Hartley, THE ZANZIBAR CHEST: A Memoir of Love and War (2003)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'S'

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