stun

/stʌn/

//stʌn// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"stun" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“stun” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,969. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,969
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-stun · stun · English

stun · rank #17,969 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #17,969
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Straits

Nearest frequency peer: Straits (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “stun”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “stun” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

stun vs su
50% similar
stun vs sun
75% similar
stun vs sub
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for stun
PropertyValue
Headwordstun
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/stʌn/
Letters4
Frequency rank#17,969
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “stun” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). stun lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around stun (IPA /stʌn/), averb. Corpus frequency is #17,969 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for stun, with forms such as "sstun", "stnu", and "sttun". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "su", "sun", "sub", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 … The correct English form is stun, spelled S-T-U-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.
  2. 2
    To shock or surprise.
  3. 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. 4
    To enter a stunned state.
  5. 5
    To confiscate (an unguarded rifle, magazine, piece of equipment, etc.) from an unsuspecting soldier as punishment for neglect.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how stun appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

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

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”).

This word in other languages

anonadar(Español)étourdir(Français)betäuben(Deutsch)assombrar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sstun
  • stnu
  • sttun
  • stunn
  • sutn
  • tsun

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of stun - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

sstun1stnu2sttun1stunn1sutn2tsun2
Edit distance from "stun"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "stun"?
"stun" is spelled S-T-U-N. The IPA pronunciation is /stʌn/.
What does "stun" mean?
As a verb, "stun" means: To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.
What words are commonly confused with "stun"?
"stun" is commonly confused with "su", "sun", "sub". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "stun"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "stun" is /stʌn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "stun"?
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”) o... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "stun", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

tack#17,973tart#17,975Soho#17,961ting#17,977

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

reuse6 variantsAdler6 variantsBoise6 variantsCher6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "stun". Here's where to go from here.

  • "stun" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "su". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #17,969 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list