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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Onboarding can be personalized based on the team and role, helping people get productive faster and reducing the need for additional training.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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This means targeted improvements could significantly reduce overall pollution without an industry-wide overhaul.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The demands of the job don’t dull the pain of being absent from inflection points in each of his daughter’s lives.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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The key to restoring that perfect onion split is maintaining a sharp knife, though for years, my attempts at using a whetstone were more likely to dull the edge more than sharpen it.—
Jesse Raub,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The move marks a sharp escalation from the 2018–2019 partial shutdown, when the administration selectively reopened offices to blunt public backlash—sometimes in ways experts viewed as legally questionable.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
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The driftwood trees help to blunt the effects of hurricanes—and, thus, slow down erosion—on the remaining woods and uplands.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Once numbing kicks in, most patients describe the day as straightforward.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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The pins went through the scalp and were docked on the surface of her skull with numbing cream.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Their patches of habitat and their water sources are diminishing; their feeding timeline has grown increasingly erratic, and more barricades are being built all the time, limiting their freedom of movement.—
Ganesh Marín,
The Dial,
7 Oct. 2025
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And another sign the perception is of a Panthers team diminished.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For investors, even opposition threats of repeal weaken confidence by raising doubts about long-term policy stability.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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While his core supporters remain loyal, sustained disapproval among the broader public could weaken his leverage in negotiations with Congress and erode confidence in his leadership.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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There was some concern about Mayfield’s status for the Bucs’ Week 5 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, but those worries were likely subsided after Mayfield was a full participant in Thursday’s practice.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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The annexation question appeared to subside for a time afterwards.—
Paula Newton,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Benumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumb. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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