# stun

> English word · Verb · IPA /stʌn/ · frequency rank #17,969

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

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **su** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-su)
- **sun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sun)
- **sub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sub)
- **sum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sum)
- **sue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sue)
- **SUV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-suv)
- **sup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sup)
- **Sus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sus)
- **Sui** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sui)
- **syn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-syn)
- **suh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-suh)
- **Sul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sul)
- **sud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sud)
- **sung** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sung)
- **swan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-swan)
- **sunk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sunk)
- **suns** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-suns)
- **Sven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-sven)
- **SUNY** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-suny)
- **Styx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stun-vs-styx)

## Common misspellings (6)
`sstun`, `stnu`, `sttun`, `stunn`, `sutn`, `tsun`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/stun