stunned
Americanadjective
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deprived of consciousness or strength.
When the fish came close enough, they would get bopped on the head with a club or an axe by the fishermen, who would then drag the stunned fish into the boat.
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showing or reflecting astonishment, shock, or bewilderment.
A stunned spectator managed a "You're kidding?" but nothing more.
The curtain fell to a stunned silence, and then rapturous applause and hysterical laughter.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stunned
Explanation
When you're stunned, you're thrown for a loop: either by shocking news or a blow to the head. You can be stunned a few different ways, but they all involve a state of confusion. If your mom won the lottery, you'd be stunned. Others might be stunned if their favorite TV show was canceled. Some people are stunned by good news that is kind of amazing, like a NASA flight to Mars. On the other hand, getting whacked in the head can leave you stunned. Getting the wind knocked out of you will do the same.
Vocabulary lists containing stunned
"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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Ghost Boys
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Fish in a Tree
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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.
Yet that is exactly what Mawhinney did, leaving Mel B, Sofía Vergara and Howie Mandel stunned before revealing that every item had somehow survived.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
In some sense she played a character called “Ma Rainey,” one who stunned with eye-catching beads and her dress and demeanor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
A stunned Emma wonders who could have betrayed her so intimately, and why.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
Kimi K3, a new artificial intelligence program from a Chinese startup called Moonshot AI, stunned the US tech industry on Friday, setting off fresh discussion over the China-US rivalry to dominate AI.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
It didn’t do Valentin any favors that the young women he was talking to were still stunned with grief over the loss of their beloved Marina Raskova.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
