estontear

Estontear is a Portuguese verb that means to daze, stupefy, or bewilder someone, often by overwhelming with brightness, noise, or intensity. It can refer to a temporary impairment of perception or judgment, whether caused by physical stimuli or by a surprising situation. The verb can also be used in a figurative sense, to overwhelm someone with information or emotion. It is commonly used in both transitive form (estontear alguém) and pronominal form (estontear-se).

Etymology and usage notes are not always explicit in dictionaries, but estontear is usually understood as a strengthened development of related terms such as tontear or tonto, which refer to dizziness or stupor. The sense of forcing someone into a dazed state can carry a slightly negative nuance, implying disorientation or confusion, though it can appear in neutral or even positive contexts when describing a breathtaking display.

In typical usage, estontear is found in Brazilian Portuguese and is also understood in European Portuguese, though it may be more common in literary or formal writing. Common collocations include estontear alguém, ficar estonteado, and estontear a plateia. Examples include: “A explosão estonteou a multidão” and “Ele ficou estonteado com a notícia.”

See also: atordoar, tontar, ficar tonto.