deadened; deadening
ˈded-niŋ 
ˈde-dᵊn-iŋ
1
: to impair in vigor or sensation : blunt
deadened his enthusiasm
deadened the pain
2
a
: to deprive of brilliance
b
: to make vapid or spiritless
oxygen deadens wine
c
: to make (something, such as a wall) impervious to sound
3
: to deprive of life : kill
: to become dead : lose life or vigor
Synonyms
Examples of deaden in a Sentence
He took aspirin to deaden the pain.
The new insulation will help to deaden the noise from the street outside.
Recent Examples on the Web
Another method Tyler has had success with is using hearing aids not to amplify sound but to deaden it.
—
Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2024
The weight of responsibility is no longer about maintaining your soul while deadened by the granite-countertop heft of 2005’s suburban expectations.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
The physicians had injected the woman’s arm with the anesthetic lidocaine—a dose strong enough to deaden her limb for surgery.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
No one else had beached their boat and swam toward me as alpine runoff deadened their limbs.
—Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 2 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deaden 
Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2024
The weight of responsibility is no longer about maintaining your soul while deadened by the granite-countertop heft of 2005’s suburban expectations.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
The physicians had injected the woman’s arm with the anesthetic lidocaine—a dose strong enough to deaden her limb for surgery.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
No one else had beached their boat and swam toward me as alpine runoff deadened their limbs.
—Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 2 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deaden
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deaden.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near deaden
Cite this Entry
“Deaden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deaden. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share