numb

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English

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Etymology

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From the past participle of nim (“to take”). Compare German benommen (“dazed, numb”) and Old Norse numinn. The final ⟨b⟩ is a later addition; it was never pronounced, and did not appear in the original word.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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numb (comparative number, superlative numbest)

  1. Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.
    fingers numb with cold
    legs numb from kneeling
    Synonyms: deadened, insensible
  2. Emotionally unable to feel or respond in a normal way.
    numb with shock; numb with boredom
    • 1915, Nellie McClung, chapter 2, in In Times Like These‎[1], Toronto: McLeod & Allen:
      […] when we know that hundreds are rendered homeless every day, and countless thousands are killed and wounded, men and boys mowed down like a field of grain, and with as little compunction, we grow a little bit numb to human misery.
    • 1966, Truman Capote, In Cold Blood‎[2], New York: Modern Library, published 1992, Part One, p. 77:
      […] seeing the dog—somehow that made me feel again. I’d been too dazed, too numb, to feel the full viciousness of it.
    • 2016, Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time‎[3], Random House Canada, Part Three:
      […] he submitted […] as a traitor, his mind numb with vodka, submits to a firing squad.
    Synonym: stunned
  3. (Maine) Dumb or stupid.
  4. (obsolete) Causing numbness.

Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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numb (third-person singular simple present numbs, present participle numbing, simple past and past participle numbed)

  1. (transitive) To cause to become numb (physically or emotionally).
    Synonym: benumb
    The dentist gave me novocaine to numb my tooth before drilling, thank goodness.
    When I first heard the news, I was numbed by the shock.
    • 1600 or 1601 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], “The Prologue”, in Antonios Reuenge. The Second Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, and are to be soulde [by Matthew Lownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, signature A2, recto:
      The ravviſh danke of clumzie vvinter ramps / The fluent ſummers vaine: and drizling ſleete / Chilleth the vvan bleak cheek of the numd earth, / VVhilſt ſnarling guſts nibble the iuyceles leaues, / From the nak't ſhuddring branch; […]
      An adjective use.
    • 2020 April 22, “Letters: Open Access: Not easy for laptops”, in Rail, page 31:
      But her main concern is the hard seating that numbs the nether regions.
  2. (transitive) To cause (a feeling) to be less intense.
    Synonym: dull
    He turned to alcohol to numb his pain.
    • 1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, “The Grey Woman”, in The Grey Woman and Other Tales‎[4], London: Smith, Elder & Co.:
      [I was] thankful for the pain, which helped to numb my terror.
  3. (transitive) To cause (the mind, faculties, etc.) to be less acute.
    Synonym: dull
    • 1912, Saki, “The Hounds of Fate”, in The Chronicles of Clovis‎[5], London: John Lane, page 219:
      […] hunger, fatigue, and despairing hopelessness had numbed his brain […]
    • 1927, Hugh Lofting, Doctor Dolittle’s Garden‎[6], Part Four, Chapter 6:
      The noise, the rush of air past our ears, was positively terrific. It actually seemed to numb the senses and make it almost impossible to take in impressions at all.
    • 2004, Cory Doctorow, chapter 13, in Eastern Standard Tribe‎[7]:
      [The sofa] exhaled a breath of trapped ancient farts, barf-smell, and antiseptic, the parfum de asylum that gradually numbed my nose to all other scents on the ward.
  4. (intransitive) To become numb (especially physically).
    • 1918, Lewis R. Freeman, “Wonders of the Teleferica”, in Many Fronts‎[8], London: John Murray, page 270:
      […] after fumbling with numbing fingers for ten or fifteen minutes, he waved his hand with a gesture of despair […]
    • 1919, Arthur Murray Chisholm, chapter 18, in The Land of Strong Men‎[9], New York: H.K. Fly:
      […] once more his feet began to numb. Again he got down and stamped the circulation going, but as soon as he began to ride again they numbed.

Derived terms

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Translations

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