dazzle
/ˈdæzəl/ verb, noun
Forms dazzles dazzling dazzled
- verb (transitive) To confuse or overpower the sight of (someone or something, such as a sensor) by means of excessive brightness. “Dazzled by the headlights of the lorry, the deer stopped in the middle of the street.”
- verb (transitive, figuratively) To render incapable of thinking clearly; to overwhelm with showiness or brilliance. “The delegates were dazzled by the originality of his arguments.”
- verb (intransitive) To be overpowered by light; to be confused by excess of brightness.
- noun A light of dazzling brilliancy.
- noun (figurative) Showy brilliance that may stop a person from thinking clearly.
- noun (uncommon, collective) A herd of zebra.
- noun (uncountable) Dazzle camouflage.
Synonyms
Etymology
From daze + -le, a frequentative form.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To overpower with light; to confuse the sight of by brilliance of light.
- verb To bewilder or surprise with brilliancy or display of any kind.
- verb To be overpoweringly or intensely bright; to excite admiration by brilliancy.
- verb To be overpowered by light; to be confused by excess of brightness.
Etymology [Freq. of daze.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dazzle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details