Astound by contriving, without ado, to knock out (4)
I believe the answer is:
stun
'astound' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stun that I've seen before include "Daze, stupify" , "Daze, concuss" , "Confuse" , "what a cracker may do?" , "Nuts (anag)" .)