étourdir

to stun

verb eh-toor-DEER Rare

Also means

to daze

Usage Note

Étourdir describes causing someone to lose their senses temporarily — whether from a blow (le choc l'a étourdi, the blow stunned him), noise (ce bruit m'étourdit, this noise is making me dizzy), or an overwhelming experience. The reflexive s'étourdir means to lose oneself in distraction. The adjective étourdi means 'scatterbrained' or 'thoughtless', a related but distinct sense.

Examples

"Le coup l'a étourdi pendant quelques secondes."

Natural Translation

The blow stunned him for a few seconds.

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