stun

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.
2. (transitive) To shock or surprise.
3. To hit the cue ball so that it slides without topspin or backspin (and with or without sidespin) and continues at a natural angle after contact with the object ball
4. (intransitive) To enter a stunned state.
5. (Singapore, slang) To confiscate (an unguarded rifle, magazine, piece of equipment, etc.) from an unsuspecting soldier as punishment for neglect.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The condition of being stunned.
2. (countable, uncountable) That which stuns; a shock; a stupefying blow.
3. (Newfoundland, countable, uncountable) A person who lacks intelligence.
4. (countable, uncountable) The effect on the cue ball where the ball is hit without topspin, backspin or sidespin.
5. (uncountable) A low-range setting for an energy weapon that will stun its target but not injure or kill it.

Synonyms

stupefy

amaze

astound

astonish

daze

stagger

shock

⚡

surprise

dumbfound

knock out

startle

take aback

disconcert

puzzle

alarm

bemuse

deafen

sandbag

appal

bewilder

dismay

bedaze

flabbergast

mystify

floor

nonplus

confound

narcotize

numb

paralyse

perplex

punch

👊

shake

🫨

shoot down

silly

stir

strike

stunning

thrill

throw

wither

wonder

knock cold

run roughshod

knock rotten

knock unconscious

anesthetize

baffle

bedazzle

bedevilment

Translations

aturdir

étourdir

stordire

atordoar

abasourdir

betäuben

assordare

ontstellen

ontzetten

⚡

konsternieren

stupéfier

onthutsen

consternar

in Bestürzung versetzen

bestürzt machen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/stʌn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: stunien

Inherited from Old English: stunian

Cognate with Middle Low German: stonen

Cognate with Middle High German: stunen

Cognate with Swedish: stöna

Cognate with Danish: stønne

Cognate with Icelandic: stynja

Cognate with Dutch: steunen

Cognate with German: stöhnen

Cognate with German: staunen

Cognate with Russian: стонать

Cognate with Occitan: estonar

Cognate with Old French: estoner

Cognate with English: astonish

In summary

Inherited from Middle English stonen, stone (“to astonish, stun, numb”, also stoneyen), probably either directly or indirectly from Anglo-Norman estoner (“to stun, astonish”), from Late Latin *stunāre, from Frankish *stunōn (“to thunder, crash”) or perhaps from an unattested Latin *extonāre (“to thunder out, make a thunderous sound”), from tonāre ("to thunder"; compare Latin attonāre). An alternative etymology derives stonen from Old English stunian (“to smash, thunder”), from Proto-West Germanic *stunōn. See also astonish, astound.
Compare Swedish stöna (“to moan, groan”), Danish stønne (“to moan, groan”), Icelandic stynja (“to moan”), Occitan estonar (“to surprise”), and French étonner (“to surprise”), and more distantly, Dutch steunen (“to groan; support”), German stöhnen (“to groan, moan”), German staunen (“to be astonished, be amazed, marvel at”), and Russian стонать (stonatʹ), стена́ть (stenátʹ, “to moan, groan”).