Dazzling

How to spell dazzling

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce dazzling

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dazzling mean?

1. adjectiveSo bright, brilliant, or impressive that it briefly overwhelms the eyes or the mind.
2. verbTemporarily blinding or amazing someone with intense light or brilliance.

Dazzling in a sentence

• adjective

  The diamond gave off a dazzling shine under the shop lights.

• verb

  The low winter sun kept dazzling the drivers on the motorway.

• adjective

  Her dazzling performance earned a standing ovation from the whole audience.

• verb

  The magician spent the evening dazzling the crowd with clever tricks.

Where does dazzling come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This word grows from the verb 'dazzle', which is a frequentative form of the older 'daze', meaning to stun, bewilder, or stupefy. 'Daze' itself reaches back to Old Norse, where 'dasask' meant to become weary or exhausted, a sense that survives in the idea of being mentally overwhelmed. By adding the frequentative ending, English created 'dazzle' in the late 1400s to suggest repeated or continuous stunning, especially the effect of a brilliant light striking the eyes so often that one cannot see clearly. The adjective 'dazzling' followed naturally, describing anything so bright or impressive that it temporarily overwhelms the senses. The spelling trap is purely the doubled 'z', a doubling that keeps the short, sharp vowel and echoes the buzzing quality the word describes.

How the word is built

• dazzle (frequentative of daze)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)