daze

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
  2. noun confusion characterized by lack of clarity
  3. verb to cause someone to lose clear vision, especially from intense light

Etymology

From Middle English, back-formation from dazed. Compare Old Norse dasask (“to become weary”), with reflexive suffix -sk, Swedish dasa (“lie idly”), and Icelandic dasask (“to make weary with cold”). Also compare Proto-Germanic *dusāną, to slumber. Alternatively from Middle Dutch dasen (“act silly”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

shock, stupor

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