daze
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
verb
-
to stun or stupefy, esp by a blow or shock
-
to bewilder, amaze, or dazzle
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dazesimple
-
dazessimple
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have dazedperfect
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has dazedperfect
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am dazingprogressive
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are dazingprogressive
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is dazingprogressive
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have been dazingperfect progressive
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has been dazingperfect progressive
Past
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dazedsimple
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had dazedperfect
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was dazingprogressive
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were dazingprogressive
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had been dazingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of daze
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English dasen (verb), from Old Norse dasa- (as in dasask “to become weary”); compare Danish dase “to doze, mope”
Explanation
A daze is a type of confusion, when you have a lack of clarity. When you first wake up, you might be in a bit of a daze, shuffling about the house before your brain really starts working. Daze can also mean the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens to you accidentally: "After getting hit in the head by a football, you were in such a daze you couldn't remember where you were." As a verb, daze means to stun. You will definitely daze your father when you tell him that you eloped.
Vocabulary lists containing daze
Charlotte's Web
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Where the Red Fern Grows
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Bunnicula
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"In the initial phase, CENTCOM's focus was systematic targeting of Iranians' command-and-control infrastructure, naval forces, ballistic missile sites and intelligence infrastructure, designed to daze and confuse them," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
Within a few minutes, the caffeinated mayor and his entourage were off to their next stop, leaving the couple in a happy daze.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025
"It doesn't feel real, it's still like we're in a daze," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025
There were multiple people walking around the area in a daze.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2025
I walk out into the waiting room in a daze.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
Players would come off the course in veritable dazes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 8, 2022
Moans and groans and the stench of diarrhea emanated from the so-called receptacles, the barracks set up for new arrivals; people wandered the grassy streets in fevered dazes.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2014
Skimming through the outsiders of World Cups past, few in their right minds or even their fuzziest dazes would have come up with Uruguay 1950, North Korea 1966, Northern Ireland 1982, Bulgaria 1994, Turkey 2002.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 6, 2010
That maybe this L.A. is another kind of beast—one that dazes you to death.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
But I never see a more experienced associate do this—first, because the customers are often annoyed to have their shopping dazes interrupted and, second, because we have far more pressing things to do.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
The two dazed pilots jettisoned what was left of the canopy and jumped into the water, dodging the rotor blades, seconds before the helicopter sank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Looking ecstatic and dazed, Arkapaw, who’s also the first Black director of photography to win an Oscar, ascended the platform to get her statue engraved beside her young son.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
England looked dazed and at the end of days, as the clock went red, the ball went dead and the Stadio Olimpico lit up and leapt to its feet around them.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2026
He followed his initial hearing three days later by video link, appearing dazed and frail and barely speaking.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
Poor Wilbur was dazed and frightened by this hullabaloo.
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
Harper collided with Moreno at home plate, dazing the catcher, but who remained in the game.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2023
Former Laker Ben McLemore swiped at the ball and elbowed James in the side of the head in the first quarter, dazing the Lakers’ star and sending him staggering into the front row.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2022
With one minute remaining in the final round, Diaz landed a straight left jab, dazing Edwards.
From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2021
He flashed his gleaming smile, dazing her momentarily.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
The strengthening hope, the dazing light, the deafening evangel, Through kingdoms dead and empires damned, through changes without cease, With earthquake, chaos, born and fed, rose,—and the word was "Peace."
From Poems by Chesterton, G. K. (Gilbert Keith)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
