stun

[ stuhn ]

verb (used with object)

, stunned, stun·ning.

1. to deprive of consciousness or strength by or as if by a blow, fall, etc.:

   The blow to his jaw stunned him for a moment.

2. to astonish; astound; amaze:

   Her wit stunned the audience.

3. to shock; overwhelm:

   The world was stunned by the attempted assassination.

4. to daze or bewilder by noise.

   Synonyms: stupefy

verb (used without object)

1. to cause astonishment or amazement:

   She stunned in a black and silver beaded gown, accessorized with a sparkly clutch.

noun

1. the act of stunning.
2. the condition of being stunned.

stun

/ stʌn /

verb

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 History and Origins

Origin of stun¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English stonen, stunen (verb), from Old French estoner “to shake, make resound”; astonish

Word History and Origins

Origin of stun¹

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

Synonym Study

See shock ¹.

Example Sentences

Lindemann said at one point the 15-year-old tried to use a stun gun on Anwar, although it was unclear if she succeeded.

From Washington Post

From her mother’s front porch, she could hear the explosions of stun grenades and the cries of demonstrators crowded around the police station.

From Washington Post

The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office came under state and federal investigation a year ago when staff members deployed pepper balls, a stun grenade and canines against immigrant detainees amid a dispute over coronavirus testing.

From Washington Post

He was pulled into the crowd, beaten with poles, hit multiple times on the neck with a stun gun, rendered unconscious and suffered a mild heart attack.

From Washington Post

The spokesman said one Park Police officer used a stun gun on the man.

From Washington Post

The authorities were trying to arrest another man suspected of throwing a stun grenade when Hamdan attacked.

From The Daily Beast

Even show ponies are not exempt from ending up in a narrowing chute that feeds the condemned in single file into the “stun box.”

From The Daily Beast

Last month he stepped on a police stun grenade as it blew up, shredding his clothes and fracturing ribs.

From The Daily Beast

Stun grenades exploded on the edges making a sound like a building being detonated.

From The Daily Beast

Riot police used stun grenades and batons to violently beat them back.

From The Daily Beast

He tole me I was to have all the money Miss Dory had been layin' up, an' he would send me mo' for the stun.

From Project Gutenberg

There had come to him an introductory statement; it was a smashing thing—a thing that would arrest and stun!

From Project Gutenberg

It was impossible to align the sights of his stun gun with any of those flitting shadows, Raf discovered.

From Project Gutenberg

Once more the party was alert, ready for trouble, and taking his cue from them, he kept his stun gun in his hand.

From Project Gutenberg

The stun ray, which had acted upon living creatures, could not govern the delicate mechanism in the hound's interior.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• amaze
• astonish
• astound
• bemuse
• bewilder
• confound
• confuse
• daze
• dumbfound
• flabbergast
• knock out
• overcome
• overpower
• overwhelm
• paralyze
• rock
• shake up
• surprise