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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

dazzle en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈdæzəl/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From daze + -le, a frequentative form.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) A light of dazzling brilliancy.
  2. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Showy brilliance that may stop a person from thinking clearly.
  3. (collective, countable, uncommon, uncountable) A herd of zebra.
    • I reached the lodge as a dazzle of zebras trotted across the dirt road into thorny scrub by the game fence, and a lone kudu gazed up at me from the short grass near the swimming pool. 2010, Douglas Rogers, The Last Resort: A Memoir of Mischief and Mayhem on a Family Farm in Africa, page 22:
    • We were trying to stalk a dazzle of zebra which flashed in and out of a long strip of green and yellow fever trees, with an ostrich, its feathers flared like a ballet skirt around its dancing legs, on their flank, when suddenly […] 1958, Laurens Van der Post, The lost world of the Kalahari: with the great and the little memory (1998 David Coulson edition)
    • Zebras move in herds which are known as "dazzles." When a lion approaches a dazzle of zebras during its hunt, […] 2009, Darren Paul Shearer, In You God Trusts, page 176:
    • A group of zebras can be called a dazzle. 2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC:
  4. (uncountable) Dazzle camouflage.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
dazzles Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

dazzle painting · motion dazzle · antidazzle

Relateds

if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull

Synonyms

zeal (group of zebras) · herd (group of zebras)

Translations (5)

ru искря́щийся свет (a very bright light) · hi चकाचौंध (a very bright light) · de Blendlicht (a very bright light) · mi kōnakonako (a very bright light) · sv flock (heard of zebras)

dazzle en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈdæzəl/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From daze + -le, a frequentative form.

Meanings

  1. (transitive) To confuse or overpower the sight of (someone or something, such as a sensor) by means of excessive brightness.
    • Those heavenly shapes / Will dazzle now the earthly, with their blaze / Insufferably bright. 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
    • Dazzled by the headlights of the lorry, the deer stopped in the middle of the street.
    • Antidrone lasers can burn or dazzle a drone's sensors.
    • An unreflected light did never yet / Dazzle the vision feminine. 1834, Henry Taylor, Philip van Artevelde, volume 1, page 45:
  2. (figuratively, transitive) To render incapable of thinking clearly; to overwhelm with showiness or brilliance.
    • The delegates were dazzled by the originality of his arguments.
  3. (intransitive) To be overpowered by light; to be confused by excess of brightness.
    • For we see, that an over-light maketh the Eyes dazel, insomuch as perpetual looking against the Sun, would cause blindness. 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: or, A Natural History in Ten Centuries:
    • […] I dare not trust these Eyes; / They Dance in Mists, and dazle with surprize. 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
dazzles Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
dazzling Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
dazzled Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
dazzled Tense=Past lexicographic

Coordinates

disorient · daze

Deriveds

dazzler · dazzlesome · endazzle · nondazzle · endazzlement · redazzle · outdazzle · razzle-dazzle · undazzle · adazzle · dazzlement · bedazzle · technodazzle · overdazzle

Hypernyms

blind

Synonyms

overpower · impress

Translations (91)

ca enlluernar (figuratively) · it abbacinare (confuse the sight) · kw dallhe (confuse the sight) · de verblüffen (figuratively) · nl verblinden (confuse the sight) · eo blindumi (confuse the sight) · nb blinde (confuse the sight) · hu lenyűgöz (figuratively) · es encandilar (confuse the sight) · pt encandear (confuse the sight) · cmn 使目眩 (confuse the sight) · nn blende (figuratively) · pt ofuscar (confuse the sight) · gl esbellar (figuratively) · gl escandear (confuse the sight) · io blindigar (figuratively) · it abbagliare (figuratively) · ru изуми́ть (figuratively) · it abbagliare (confuse the sight) · ca enlluernar (confuse the sight) · lv apžilbināt (confuse the sight) · lv apžilbināt (figuratively) · izh häjätä (confuse the sight) · gl alabarar (confuse the sight) · mi whakakōpura (confuse the sight) · sdc abbaglià (confuse the sight) · de bezaubern (figuratively) · es obnubilar (figuratively) · gl trasvirar (confuse the sight) · ru изумля́ть (figuratively) · nn blinde (confuse the sight) · el θαμπώνω (confuse the sight) · bg смайвам (figuratively) · cy dallu (confuse the sight) · de blenden (confuse the sight) · cs oslnit (confuse the sight) · gl alabarar (figuratively) · sc illughinare (confuse the sight) · fi häikäistä (confuse the sight) · ja 眩惑させる (confuse the sight) · zdj uzusa (confuse the sight) · eo ravi (confuse the sight) · sdn abbaglià (confuse the sight) · gl esbellar (confuse the sight) · hu elámít (figuratively) · nn blende (confuse the sight) · es encandilar (figuratively) · pt ofuscar (figuratively) · ja 夢中にさせる (figuratively) · wa asblawi (confuse the sight) · fr éblouir (confuse the sight) · bg поразявам (figuratively) · ru ослепи́ть (confuse the sight) · gl abraiar (figuratively) · es deslumbrar (confuse the sight) · ru порази́ть (figuratively) · es apabullar (figuratively) · it impressionare (figuratively) · gl escandear (figuratively) · cmn 使驚奇 /使惊奇 (figuratively) · wa asblawi (figuratively) · fi sokaista (figuratively) · sc alluinai (confuse the sight) · ru поража́ть (figuratively) · fr éblouir (figuratively) · cy syfrdanu (figuratively) · sv blända (confuse the sight) · bg заслепявам (confuse the sight) · nb blende (confuse the sight) · eo mirigi (confuse the sight) · gl ofuscar (confuse the sight) · ru ослепля́ть (confuse the sight) · gl ofuscar (figuratively) · fi sokaista (confuse the sight) · es obnubilar (confuse the sight) · wa esblawter (figuratively) · ary عْمى (confuse the sight) · mi kōrekoreko (confuse the sight) · gl trasvirar (figuratively) · gl eslumar (confuse the sight) · nb blende (figuratively) · de betören (figuratively) · io dazlar (confuse the sight) · nl blenden (confuse the sight) · he סנוור (confuse the sight) · gl eslumar (figuratively) · gl frenxer (confuse the sight) · cs oslnit (figuratively) · ja 目を眩ませる (confuse the sight) · de faszinieren (figuratively) · hu elkápráztat (confuse the sight)