stun

Definition of stun

10 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

verb

(transitive)To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.

“Bill tried to stun the snake by striking it on the head.”
“In many European countries cattle have to be stunned before slaughtering.”

See all 10 definitions

verb

(transitive)To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.

“Bill tried to stun the snake by striking it on the head.”
“In many European countries cattle have to be stunned before slaughtering.”
(transitive)To shock or surprise.

“The celebrity was stunned to find herself confronted with unfounded allegations on the front page of a newspaper.”
“He stood there stunned, looking at the beautiful, breath-taking sunrise.”
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
(intransitive)To enter a stunned state.

“The monsters stun when you jump on them.”
(Singapore, slang)To confiscate (an unguarded rifle, magazine, piece of equipment, etc.) from an unsuspecting soldier as punishment for neglect.

noun

(countable, uncountable)The condition of being stunned.
(countable, uncountable)That which stuns; a shock; a stupefying blow.
(Newfoundland, countable, uncountable)A person who lacks intelligence.
(countable, uncountable)The effect on the cue ball where the ball is hit without topspin, backspin or sidespin.

“Williams will need a lot of stun to avoid going in the middle pocket”
(uncountable)A low-range setting for an energy weapon that will stun its target but not injure or kill it.

“Captain James Kirk: "Set your phaser on one quarter. I'll leave mine on stun."”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

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…

See full etymology

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”).

Anagrams of stun

5 plays · some not in Scrabble

Best play nuts 4 points

Words you can make from stun

12 playable · top: NUTS (4 pts)

Best play nuts 4 points

4-letter words

1 word

TUNS 4 pts

3-letter words

6 words

2-letter words

4 words

Hooks

4 extensions · 4 back

A single letter you can add to stun to make another valid word.