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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The researchers believe that the benefit likely comes from aspirin acting in several ways – by reducing inflammation and inhibiting platelet function and tumor growth.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
18 Sep. 2025
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In 2016, court filings indicate Gamez Lira was charged with possession of marijuana but ultimately pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after the charges were reduced.—
Armando Garcia,
ABC News,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In parts of Southeast Asia, totality will begin as the full moon rises, dulling the effect.—
Jamie Carter,
Space.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Even when the Dodgers find a glimmer, it has been dulled rather quickly.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Companies will ultimately pass at least some of those additional taxes on to consumers, though the process will take many months due to various business strategies to try to blunt the impact, economists said.—
Greg Iacurci,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
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The very tool meant to sharpen medical practice had perhaps blunted it.—
Murali Doraiswamy,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Polarity numbs himself with alcohol and can’t be bothered with God U’s suspicious new Dean, aptly named Cipher (Hamish Linklater).—
Olivia Singh,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Bronze just needed to numb the pain.—
Charlotte Harpur,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But with Burrow now looking likely to miss the majority of the regular season, those chances look severely diminished.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
16 Sep. 2025
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One potential problem with this set-up is that the SCORE Act diminishes the role of state law in subject areas traditionally governed by states.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Foreign powers such as Russia and China, which challenge America and its allies from Europe to the Middle East to Taiwan and the South China Sea, have long been accused of exploiting such divisions through disinformation campaigns that inflame tensions and weaken confidence in American governance.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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But around the equinoxes, the natural buffer weakens.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Horror of this scale has the effect of deadening words, making stories of the most unimaginable violence land with a dull thud.—
Jack Sheehan
September 4,
Literary Hub,
4 Sep. 2025
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The Finnish midfielder deadened the ball with a foot and quickly chipped it laterally over nearby defenders.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 July 2025
Verb
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From the Luddites smashing looms in 19th-century England to autoworkers walking out over the introduction of robots to the factory floor in the 1980s, resistance has flared before either being crushed or subsiding, giving way to the new economies and social orders the technologies ushered in.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
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The pharmaceutical company’s shares traded as high as $942 last summer, but have subsided to about $755.—
John Dorfman,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Benumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumb. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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