stunned; stunning
1
: to make senseless, groggy, or dizzy by or as if by a blow : daze
2
: to shock with noise
3
: to overcome especially with paralyzing astonishment or disbelief
Synonyms
Examples of stun in a Sentence
Verb
The angry criticism stunned them.
His old friends were stunned at his success.
She sat in stunned disbelief.
There was a stunned expression on her face.
weapons that can stun people temporarily
Recent Examples on the Web
Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2024
Earlier this week, the Warriors shot an earth-shattering 63.4% from behind the arc to stun the Lakers.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
The 34-year-old later said he was stunned by the verdict.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
The public attack on a senior network executive stunned observers.
—Jon Passantino, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
On March 8, 2014, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) stunned the world.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
In reading court documents, they were stunned to learn about the high number of F.B.I. informants in the case, who had not only helped organize and connect potential domestic terrorists but had secretly taped hundreds of hours of meetings, conversations, and training sessions.
—Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2024
But a bigot on this team — this team of all others — stuns the senses.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
There’s been a surge of stars wearing the classic pattern as of late: Jennifer Lawrence stunned on the Oscars red carpet in a custom polka-dot gown and shawl from Christian Dior that truly radiated old Hollywood.
—Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
When Lindsey Decker, vice president of Albert’s Dog Lounge, first learned about Fergie from Second Chance Shelter’s partner in Wisconsin, she was stunned that the 13-year-old dog had spent nearly her entire life in the overcrowded shelter.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2024
Earlier this week, the Warriors shot an earth-shattering 63.4% from behind the arc to stun the Lakers.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2024
The 34-year-old later said he was stunned by the verdict.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024
The public attack on a senior network executive stunned observers.
—Jon Passantino, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
On March 8, 2014, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) stunned the world.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
In reading court documents, they were stunned to learn about the high number of F.B.I. informants in the case, who had not only helped organize and connect potential domestic terrorists but had secretly taped hundreds of hours of meetings, conversations, and training sessions.
—Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2024
But a bigot on this team — this team of all others — stuns the senses.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
There’s been a surge of stars wearing the classic pattern as of late: Jennifer Lawrence stunned on the Oscars red carpet in a custom polka-dot gown and shawl from Christian Dior that truly radiated old Hollywood.
—Alyssa Grabinski, Peoplemag, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stun.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stun
Cite this Entry
“Stun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stun. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
stun
transitive verb
stunned; stunning
: to make senseless, groggy, or dizzy by or as if by a blow
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share