BENUMBED Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words

benumbed 1 of 2

adjective

as in numbed

lacking in sensation or feeling my benumbed ears took a few minutes to warm up after the frigid air outside

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

benumbed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of benumb

as in reduced

to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling a succession of personal tragedies had benumbed him to all grief

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for benumbed

Adjective

When Bill’s older brother Henry (Barry Ward) finds the pianist in numbed solitude in his dingy apartment, Bill has canceled all his upcoming gigs, saying Scotty cannot be replaced.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Feb. 2026
Ingber also notes the numbed response to these strikes from much of the American public, something that, in part, may come from the routine nature of these drone strikes as something that the nation has become desensitized to dropping bombs on enemies.

— Rebecca Schneid, Time, 21 Oct. 2025

Definition of numbed

Verb

Bassam Abed said at least 10 residences housing some 300 families were reduced to rubble, and families were not given enough time to flee.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
That night’s show was reduced from 29 to 19 songs, between the concert running late from the interruption and Toomey likely not being able to duplicate Castronovo’s lead singing moments as well as his drumming.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of reduced

Adjective

Nobody cheered; after so many years of violence, the crowd seemed numb.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
After nine relocations, baseball fanbases became numb to abandonment, but by 1971, Washington fans who were losing their second franchise in 11 years, had enough.

— Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of numb

Verb

Bikes like these would make a lot of sense from a sales perspective, considering the appeal of these models has never dulled in the motorcycle community.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Oct. 2026
That was half her life ago, but the emotional charge of that day has never dulled.

— Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of dulled

Adjective

The only reason to think this may be a game is if the Cowboys are asleep, and Jalon Daniels has some success running the ball.

— Mac Engel October 8, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Oct. 2026
Chidgasornpongse crystallizes that cosmic doom further when Grandma Saluay falls half-asleep or stares out the van window, her mind drifting into the ether.

— Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of asleep

Verb

The tension of Noah’s character, which Lanterns presents as a parallel to John’s, is immediately blunted by the show’s need to soften and resolve everything left uncertain in John’s.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026
Know More There’s plenty of history to look back on for House Democrats who worry that a favorable political climate could get blunted by last-minute GOP spending.

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of blunted

Verb

The weather service canceled the flood watch for nearly all the Kansas City forecast area because the threat of additional heavy rain had diminished.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
One can see this when a paint’s color appears diminished and faded.

— Wendy S. Walters, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of diminished

Verb

Isaias has weakened dramatically since making landfall last night as a Category 2 hurricane.

— Erika Angulo, NBC news, 11 Oct. 2026
Wide swaths of the Southwest were deluged Sunday as the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel weakened and moved inland, but coastal communities already battered by high surf emerged with less damage than some officials feared.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of weakened

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.

Browse Nearby Words

benumb

benumbed

benumbing

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Benumbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumbed. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of benumbed

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

bon vivant

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes