1
as in undermined
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
an excess of detail deadens much of the mystery novel's suspense
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in reduced
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
a couple of aspirins deadened the headache
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadened
Verb
-
In the view of many faculty members, Baccarelli had undermined the public position Harvard spent months cultivating—as a beacon of academic integrity, unwilling to bend to the administration’s political pressure.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025 -
Some researchers hypothesized that only species within the genus Homo had the ability to make stone tools, although recent discoveries have undermined that assumption.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Kent State was reduced to a single photo because the press was far more centralized at the time, and had the power and the influence to edit, curate, and promote a particular version of an event.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
-
But as water became scarce in the American Southwest, the allocation to Imperial Valley farmers was reduced, overflow stopped, and the Salton Sea started drying up.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
After an anesthetized cockroach is secured on the platform, a motor slides that rig into position, and a computer vision system assesses the insect's body size and position.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Lamb and Smit approach with their gear and check vitals, then begin measuring, sampling and hoisting the grizzly’s anesthetized body into the air in a sling winched to a tree.—
Lesley Evans Ogden,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
Nearly everything weakened, from Big Tech companies like Nvidia and Apple to stocks of smaller companies looking to get past uncertainty about tariffs and trade.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Eighteen packages of European Union sanctions and dozens more from the United States, United Kingdom and others have weakened Russia’s economy – but not its resolve to carry on fighting.—
Clare Sebastian,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In recent years, however, his Midas touch on the charts has dulled slightly, and his last two sets — 2023’s – (Minus) and 2024’s Autumn Variations — missed the top spot, while failing to generate the long-lasting hit singles his earlier albums had easily spun off.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Syracuse University professor Dimitar Gueorguiev warned that TikTok’s edge has dulled.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Rather, Mailer’s recordings of them felt like an extreme but iconic depiction of 1970s countercultural underclass Americana, where teenage girls are drugged and gang-raped without registering much on the surface at all.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
-
The dude can work in Van Halen song titles or stupid words from drugged-out journalists on demand and on command.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The day before, during Erik’s hearing, the relatives had emotionally exhausted themselves, the cousins said.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
-
He is weakened, and yet his opponents underestimate his continuing appeal with voters exhausted by decades of political dysfunction.—
Ian Bremmer,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
However, the effects on hiring may be blunted by persistent weakness in the labor market.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Law enforcement crackdowns have led to multiple arrests and narcotics seizures, but the court system has seemingly blunted efforts by allowing people who were arrested back on the streets within hours in some cases, Jenkins alleged.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Deadened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadened. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share