stunt

stunt
    n 1: a difficult or unusual or dangerous feat; usually done to
         gain attention
    2: a creature (especially a whale) that has been prevented from
       attaining full growth
    v 1: check the growth or development of; "You will stunt your
         growth by building all these muscles"
    2: perform a stunt or stunts
    

Stunt \Stunt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stunted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Stunting}.] [See {Stint}.]
   To hinder from growing to the natural size; to prevent the
   growth of; to stint, to dwarf; as, to stunt a child; to stunt
   a plant.
   [1913 Webster]

         When, by a cold penury, I blast the abilities of a
         nation, and stunt the growth of its active energies,
         the ill or may do is beyond all calculation. --Burke.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Stunt \Stunt\, n.
   1. A check in growth; also, that which has been checked in
      growth; a stunted animal or thing.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Specifically: A whale two years old, which, having been
      weaned, is lean, and yields but little blubber.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Stunt \Stunt\, n. [Cf. {Stint} a task.]
   1. A feat hard to perform; an act which is striking for the
      skill, strength, or the like, required to do it; a feat.
      [Colloq.]

            An extraordinary man does three or four different
            "stunts" with remarkable dexterity.   --The Bookman.

            He does not try to do stunts; and, above all, he
            does not care to go in swimming.      --L. Hutton.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   2. an unusual action performed to gain public attention; as,
      a publicity stunt.
      [PJC]
    

155 Moby Thesaurus words for "stunt":
      abbreviate, abridge, abstract, accomplished fact, accomplishment,
      achievement, act, acta, acting, action, adventure, arrest, bank,
      blow, bob, boil down, buffoonery, business, caper, capsulize,
      characterization, check, clip, compress, condense, contract, coup,
      crab, crop, curb, curtail, cut, cut back, cut down, cut off short,
      cut short, dealings, deed, delimit, dido, dip, dock, doing, doings,
      dwarf, effort, elide, end, endeavor, enterprise, epitomize,
      exploit, fait accompli, feat, feather, fishtail, foreshorten, gag,
      gest, go, ham, hammy acting, hamper, hand, handiwork, hinder, hoke,
      hokum, hold back, impair, impede, impersonation, job, limit, loop,
      maneuver, measure, mimesis, mimicking, mimicry, miming, move, mow,
      mummery, nip, operation, overacting, overt act, pantomiming,
      passage, patter, performance, performing, personation, playacting,
      playing, plow, poll, pollard, porpoise, portrayal, proceeding,
      production, projection, prune, pull out, pull up, push down, reap,
      recap, recapitulate, reduce, representation, res gestae, restrict,
      retard, retrench, roll, runty, shave, shear, shorten, sideslip,
      skid, slapstick, slow, snub, spin, spiral, stage business,
      stage directions, stage presence, step, stop, stroke, sum up,
      summarize, suppress, synopsize, take in, taking a role, telescope,
      thing, thing done, tour de force, transaction, trick, trim,
      truncate, turn, undertaking, undulate, work, works, yaw