stun

1 of 2

verb

stunned; stunning

transitive verb

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

stun

2 of 2

noun

: the effect of something that stuns : shock

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
Verb
The recipients were stunned at first, but many were not exactly surprised. Penelope Green, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024 The rise to prominence has stunned even the generational talent at the center of it all. Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024 Madonna has officially anointed Kylie Minogue into her royal court, as the Queen of Pop stunned fans by bringing Minogue — widely touted around the world as the Princess of Pop — on stage for an epic performance at Thursday night's Celebration Tour stop in Los Angeles. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 8 Mar. 2024 The gesture stunned social media when word got out. Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 3 Mar. 2024 My two other children are also stunned and hurt about how their brothers treat us. Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 Not so for Kawasaki, who stunned everyone with a 130,000 rpm impeller that compresses incoming air at 2.4 times over atmospheric pressure. Peter Jackson, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2024 The exception was Ronstadt’s ballad, which was featured on an album that stunned the industry by spending five weeks at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 over the peak holiday sales period. Paul Grein, Billboard, 28 Feb. 2024 Schwarzman stunned the audience by predicting future AI systems with IQs potentially exceeding 12,000 - far beyond current human intelligence levels. Mark Minevich, Forbes, 25 Feb. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English stonen, stunen, from Anglo-French estoner — more at astonish

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1727, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of stun was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near stun

Cite this Entry

“Stun.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stun. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

stun

verb
ˈstən
stunned; stunning
1
: to make senseless or dizzy by or as if by a blow
2
: to overcome with astonishment or disbelief
stunned by the news
stun noun

Medical Definition

stun

transitive verb
stunned; stunning
: to make senseless, groggy, or dizzy by or as if by a blow

More from Merriam-Webster on stun

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