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
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
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
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
Thin sound deadening The Enabling Technology prize went to CompositeEdge GmbH and ATA Mute BV for a new kind of sound deadening.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 16 Sep. 2025
Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deaden
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
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
Thin sound deadening The Enabling Technology prize went to CompositeEdge GmbH and ATA Mute BV for a new kind of sound deadening.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 16 Sep. 2025
Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for deaden
Cite this Entry
“Deaden.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deaden. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share