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
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for benumbing
Verb
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Making the swap can save you from packing three extra shoes in your bag, reducing your luggage weight considerably.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Sep. 2025 -
Since 2000, investments in reducing malaria have prevented more than 2 billion cases and nearly 13 million deaths, according to the World Health Organization, but recent foreign aid cuts are putting programs to control and eliminate the disease at risk.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
29 Sep. 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
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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Together, these ingredients create a gentle, yet powerful, solution that restores shine to stainless steel without dulling its finish.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
19 Sep. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Schultz also slow-walked the trial use of the fast-acting anesthetic ketamine by paramedics, who were able to administer only four doses in six months under his stewardship.—
Tony Saavedra,
Oc Register,
4 Sep. 2025
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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
Verb
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That action led the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to issue a landmark ruling in June blunting the power of judges.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
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But many are now finding that geopolitics is blunting their ambitions.—
Joyce Jiang,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 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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Football, it could be argued, is diminishing its worth by almost never taking a break and playing virtually year-round.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
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Advertisement Risks of multivitamins Many of us grew up striving for 100% on every test, but overachieving with multivitamins comes with risk—diminishing their benefits or causing harmful side effects.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Benumbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumbing. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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