stun
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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Her wit stunned the audience.
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The world was stunned by the attempted assassination.
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to daze or bewilder by noise.
- Synonyms:
- stupefy
verb (used without object)
noun
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the act of stunning.
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the condition of being stunned.
verb
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to render unconscious, as by a heavy blow or fall
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to shock or overwhelm
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to surprise or astound
noun
Related Words
See shock 1.
Etymology
Origin of stun
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English stonen, stunen (verb), from Old French estoner “to shake, make resound”; see astonish
Explanation
To stun is to knock unconscious or to shock. So getting hit in the head with a softball will stun you, but hearing that your favorite band is playing at the prom will also stun you. If your cat catches a mouse, it may only stun the little animal and give you a chance to set it free. Being knocked hard enough in the head is generally what it takes to physically stun a person. It's more common for something that's astonishing to stun you, whether it's hearing terrible news or seeing something amazingly beautiful, like the northern lights or the Grand Canyon. Stun, in fact, shares a root with astonish.
Vocabulary lists containing stun
"My Favorite Chaperone," Vocabulary from the short story
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Beam Me Up: Talking About Star Trek
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"My Favorite Chaperone" by Jean Davies Okimoto
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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.
One dog that didn’t bark at the conference, and continues to stun by its silence, is that of a wealth or asset tax.
From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026
Philadelphia’s long-misbegotten basketball franchise revives on the fly to stun Boston.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
Former Metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone, who suffered a heart attack on Jan. 6, 2021 after being shot with a stun gun by a rioter, felt betrayed by the DOJ’s reversal.
From Salon • Apr. 15, 2026
CO2 is a key part of food and drink production and is used to stun livestock during slaughter as well as in packaging to keep food fresh, and in fizzy drinks.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
Then they stun themselves against clear windowpanes and die, fatly baffled in the sun.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
