dazzle
Americanverb (used with object)
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dazzles,
present (3rd person singular)
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dazzled,
past participle, past
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dazzling
present participle
verb (used without object)
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dazzles,
present (3rd person singular)
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dazzled,
past participle, past
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dazzling
present participle
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to shine or reflect brilliantly.
gems dazzling in the sunlight.
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to be overpowered by light.
Her eyes dazzled in the glare.
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to excite admiration by brilliance.
Once one is accustomed to such splendor, it no longer dazzles.
noun
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dazzles
plural
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an act or instance of dazzling.
the dazzle of the spotlights.
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something that dazzles.
verb
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(usually tr) to blind or be blinded partially and temporarily by sudden excessive light
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to amaze, as with brilliance
she was dazzled by his wit
she dazzles in this film
noun
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bright light that dazzles
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bewilderment caused by glamour, brilliance, etc
the dazzle of fame
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dazzlernoun
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overdazzleverb
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outdazzleverb (used with object)
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undazzledadjective
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undazzlingadjective
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dazzlinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dazzlesimple
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dazzlessimple
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have dazzledperfect
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has dazzledperfect
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am dazzlingprogressive
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are dazzlingprogressive
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is dazzlingprogressive
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have been dazzlingperfect progressive
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has been dazzlingperfect progressive
Past
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dazzledsimple
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had dazzledperfect
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was dazzlingprogressive
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were dazzlingprogressive
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had been dazzlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dazzle
Explanation
To dazzle is to blind someone for a moment with light, like a deer in the headlights. You can also dazzle by impressing people, and not just by wearing a sparkly sequined shirt. Have you ever had a light shine in your face so you couldn't see for a second? You were dazzled. To dazzle is to blind someone in this way. A car's high-beam lights can dazzle other drivers. Looking directly at the sun is a way to dazzle yourself. Dazzling puts you in a daze for a second. Also, anything impressive can dazzle. A great writer dazzles readers. An impressive speaker dazzles listeners. It's like you're blinded by their brilliance.
Vocabulary lists containing dazzle
Selection Vocabulary 2, Unit 2
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Unit 5, Academic Vocabulary
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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:
Apart from anything else, that smile is going to dazzle in the holiday snaps.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Hundreds of robotics startups, some just a couple years old, peppered the sprawling convention centre hoping to dazzle.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Getting investors to look past the dazzle of artificial intelligence and data centers toward ordinary roads, bridges and cell towers is a fairly tall order these days.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Fireworks may dazzle crowds with brilliant colors and loud explosions, but new research suggests their effects continue long after the show ends.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 4, 2026
"But it can also be performed by a charlatan! A trickster! I bet that jongleur sleeping out in the barn could dazzle our eyes if we let him."
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
The troublesome Queen of the Night dazzles with high notes that shoot out like daggers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Deadline's Pete Hammond said the film "falls short of giving any new insights", but said Jaafar Jackson "dazzles" in a film that fans would "eat up".
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
On the silver screen, it dazzles like few contemporary science fiction films do, opting for color over the pallid gray verisimilitude that often bogs down its peers.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
MILAN—Every time American figure skater Ilia Malinin takes the ice, he dazzles fans with his repeated feats of antigravity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
All of the life of the earth dies, all of the time, in the same volume as the new life that dazzles us each morning, each spring.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
But having read “Shop Different,” it’s easy to understand why a Midwestern kid who was dazzled by department stores might want to take a chance on one of America’s most storied 20th-century retail brands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
“The Language of Butterflies” is equal parts an ode to the gaudiest of insects—a tribute to butterflies’ beauty, behavior and natural history—and to the scientists and enthusiasts dazzled by them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Sculpting her natural gifts of wit and brazenness into a living artwork dazzled all who came within her orbit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
In 2010, Spain dazzled the football world with their tiki-taka on their way to World Cup glory in South Africa.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
You were as dazzled by the rainbow of color as I was.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
The review covered hundreds of species on the IUCN's "red list" -- icons like staghorn and table corals whose mineral skeletons give reefs their dazzling three-dimensional complexity.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
A dazzling art exhibition is set to launch it, and our narrator will be handsomely paid for his assistance—writing promotional material, helping the artist with his research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
It’s a dazzling selection that stresses the variety of Pollock’s paintings from this brief period, their common technique notwithstanding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
It was all so dazzling at the Unisphere.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
Gingersnipes beamed as if some dazzling new information had been revealed.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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