Definition of stun verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

stun

verb

/stʌn/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they stun	/stʌn/ /stʌn/
he / she / it stuns	/stʌnz/ /stʌnz/
past simple stunned	/stʌnd/ /stʌnd/
past participle stunned	/stʌnd/ /stʌnd/
-ing form stunning	/ˈstʌnɪŋ/ /ˈstʌnɪŋ/

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stun somebody/something to make a person or an animal unconscious for a short time, especially by hitting them on the head synonym knock out
- The fall stunned me for a moment.
- The animals are stunned before slaughter.
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stun somebody to surprise or shock somebody so much that they cannot think clearly or speak synonym astound
- Her words stunned me—I had no idea she felt that way.
- The guests were stunned into silence.
- The company stunned investors with its third profits warning in five months.
Synonyms surprise
surprisestartle ▪ amaze ▪ stun ▪ astonish ▪ take somebody aback ▪ astoundThese words all mean to make somebody feel surprised.
surprise to give somebody the feeling that you get when something happens that you do not expect or do not understand, or something that you do expect does not happen; to make somebody feel surprised:
The outcome didn’t surprise me at all.
startle to surprise somebody suddenly in a way that slightly shocks or frightens them:
Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.
The explosion startled the horse.
amaze to surprise somebody very much:
Just the huge size of the place amazed her.
stun (rather informal) (often in newspapers) to surprise or shock somebody so much that they cannot think clearly or speakastonish to surprise somebody very much:
The news astonished everyone.
amaze or astonish?These two words have the same meaning and in most cases you can use either. If you are talking about something that both surprises you and makes you feel ashamed, use astonish: He was astonished by his own stupidity.
take somebody aback [usually passive] (especially of something negative) to surprise or shock somebody:
We were rather taken aback by her hostile reaction.
astound to surprise or shock somebody very much:
His arrogance astounded her.
Patterns
- It surprises somebody/startles somebody/amazes somebody/stuns somebody/astonishes somebody/takes somebody aback/astounds somebody
- to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody that…
- to surprise/amaze somebody what/how…
- to surprise/startle/amaze/stun/astonish/astound somebody to know/find/learn/see/hear…
- to be surprised/startled/stunned into (doing) something
Topics Feelingsc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- briefly
- momentarily
preposition
- into
phrases
- stun somebody into silence
See full entry
stun somebody to impress somebody very much synonym amaze
- They were stunned by the view from the summit.

Word OriginMiddle English: shortening of Old French estoner ‘astonish’.

See stun in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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influence

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