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

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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

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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

Then beef stock and heavy cream are added, and the sauce is reduced heavily.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
By controlling how densely cancer-targeting proteins are displayed on the virus, the team developed vaccine particles that significantly reduced tumor development in mice.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026

Definition of reduced

Adjective

To live in truth here, now, today is to resist the forces that would like nothing more than to isolate, numb, and commodify us.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
Halfway through my hands and feet went numb, then felt like fire, and then contorted into strange positions like lobster claws.

— Kate Berlant, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of numb

Verb

The primary effects generally wear off in less than an hour, but a person’s senses may remain dulled and their judgment and coordination impaired for several hours afterward.

— Christopher P. Holstege, The Conversation, 15 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of dulled

Adjective

When his mother was murdered just outside her home, Justin was only 5 years old and asleep in his bedroom.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026
On the other side of the bed was me, in my cozy pajamas, asleep under a white blanket with my head also turned to the right.

— Jenny Hughes, The Spruce, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of asleep

Verb

Modern interceptor missile technology has advanced to the point where even massive, multi-tiered attacks can be blunted with a high degree of probability.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of blunted

Verb

As with many early American utopian communities, their ranks diminished after the Civil War, but a small band of Shakers has persisted at Sabbathday.

— Peter Smith, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
Somewhat diminished in the film’s erratic attempts to contextualize this ever-metastasizing sickness is Odeh himself.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of diminished

Verb

After the Supreme Court weakened the Voting Rights Act, Alabama Republicans redrew Shomari Figures’ district, cutting its Black voting-age population from 48% to 40%.

— Kim Chandler, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026
Eisenkot's allies could also try to reverse legislation advanced by Netanyahu's government that critics say weakened Israel's democratic institutions and judicial independence.

— Itay Stern, NPR, 30 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.

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“Benumbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumbed. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of benumbed

adjective

verb

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