as in to reduce
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
a succession of personal tragedies had benumbed him to all grief
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Recent Examples of benumb
Because both actors look like lumpish proletarian versions of Ingmar Bergman stars — Alma Pöysti, radiant yet benumbed, plays Ansa like a dish-towel Bibi Andersson, and Jussi Vatanen could be the schlump brother of Max von Sydow (with a dollop of Ryan Gosling).
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 May 2023
What’s destructive, and eventually benumbing, is the kitchen-sink clutter of fantasy, reality, wish-fulfillment and glib enchantment.
—Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 24 Jan. 2019
But her core insight into how even mediocrities can be institutionally benumbed and conscripted into heinous projects remains fertile.
—George Prochnik, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 May 2023
What’s destructive, and eventually benumbing, is the kitchen-sink clutter of fantasy, reality, wish-fulfillment and glib enchantment.
—Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 24 Jan. 2019
But her core insight into how even mediocrities can be institutionally benumbed and conscripted into heinous projects remains fertile.
—George Prochnik, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for benumb
Verb
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As part of a plea agreement, the murder charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter, and the remaining charges were dismissed.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
22 Oct. 2025
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Additional heavy rainfall is possible beyond Saturday; however, uncertainty in Melissa's track and forward speed reduces confidence in exact totals.—
MIAMI HERALD HURRICANE BOT,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hesse is starting to lose his vision — a reality that a man who spent his life looking through a camera is unwilling to accept just yet — but his passion for filmmaking hasn’t dulled in the slightest.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
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Tools meant to make life easier can sometimes dull our sensitivity and sense of self.—
Fairchild Studio,
Footwear News,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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County officials are asking voters to approve a sales tax increase, Measure A, to blunt the fiscal impact.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
21 Oct. 2025
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Her election may also blunt the rise of Sanseito, a right-wing populist party that surged in July on an anti-immigration platform.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Taylor makes a persuasive case for how artists can grow, if incrementally and maybe bitterly, amid so much numbing digital noise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
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Apply it for 10 minutes to numb the itch and reduce swelling.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Although there may be some lingering tension between Turning Point and the Wisconsin GOP, resistance to the group is diminishing, party officials said.—
Steven Martinez,
jsonline.com,
21 Oct. 2025
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Coleman also pushed back against the notion that enthusiasm for AI diminishes the value of human work.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Losing him for the entire World Series would weaken their already-thin bullpen, and force Roberts to get creative in high-leverage situations after his starting pitcher has been removed.—
Jon Paul Hoornstra,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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After accounting for lifestyle variables like exercise, the effects weakened a bit as, for example, more active people tend to spend more time outdoors.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Rather than slash and swing away after spotting the play, Stott tried to get the ball down and deaden it, increasing the level of difficulty.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Now, Sora 2 might just be another online fad, a reality-deadening distraction that people will soon tire of.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Yet two years passed before the painting was discovered, and only then because Peruggia – who had kept the painting hidden in his Paris apartment all of that time, waiting for the furor over the theft to subside – attempted to sell it to an Italian art dealer.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
20 Oct. 2025
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After a moment, my sobs subsided.—
Sam Lipsyte,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Benumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumb. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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