as in reducing
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
a succession of personal tragedies had benumbed him to all grief
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in deadening
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for benumbing
Verb
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The French prime minister was widely expected to lose the motion after failing to win support from political rivals on both the right and left for 2026 budget plans aimed at reducing the country's yawning budget deficit.—
Ganesh Rao,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025 -
At Tufts University, scientists have developed a new drug that aims to boost weight loss while also reducing the nausea, muscle loss and weight regain associated with popular GLP-1 medications.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
8 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 tires also contain a sound-deadening foam that contributes to the Optiq’s quiet cabin.—
Mark Phelan,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Some critics and documentary filmmakers say that mandate is reductive and numbing.—
Michael Powell,
New York Times,
25 Sep. 2022
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Aside from being scientifically fascinating, the special effect of these peppercorns is also a key component of Sichuan cuisine’s greatest gift to the culinary world, a numbing and spicy flavor profile known as málà.—
Chala Tyson Tshitundu,
Bon Appétit,
29 Sep. 2021
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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Soaring temperatures and drought also sends trees into stress, dulling the experience of fall foliage.—
Emilee Coblentz,
Outside,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Dental surgeon William Thomas Green Morton saw the case as the perfect opportunity to test his anesthetic breathing apparatus in the hospital’s amphitheater.—
RJ Mackenzie,
Popular Science,
3 Sep. 2025
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Perry, who died at age 54 from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine, with drowning a contributing factor, previously detailed how his friends helped him in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For now at least, that reality isn’t blunting the temporary ardor for counter-attack.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
4 Aug. 2025
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Almost 12 million lower-income Americans would lose their health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), blunting the significant coverage gains made under the ACA.—
Nathaniel Weixel,
The Hill,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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The draft, titled Development of Non-Opioid Analgesics for Chronic Pain, outlines steps to creating and seeking alternative chronic pain treatments amid the opioid epidemic, specifically the development of non-opioid analgesic products.—
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Sep. 2025
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An analgesic medication that works in the brain to reduce mild to moderate pain by increasing the body’s pain threshold and changing the way the body senses pain.—
Dr. Sanjay Gupta,
CNN Money,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The difference is the wisdom to recognize that giving away public-trust land and diminishing our quality of life forsakes the permanent greater good for the temporary benefit of a few developers and residents.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Sep. 2025
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In an era of diminishing trust in government institutions and the media, conspiracy theories about high-profile crimes can get significant traction in the absence of a conclusive motive.—
Ernesto Londoño,
Twin Cities,
1 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Benumbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumbing. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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