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
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
Adjective
-
Other teams soon showed that astrocytes in dishes, brain slices, and even anesthetized animals responded to various neurotransmitters.—
Ingrid Wickelgren,
Quanta Magazine,
30 Jan. 2026 -
The lyrics have the same anesthetized ennui as in emo rap and the new wave of online rock, but the beats are menacingly new and dead-set on defacing your consciousness.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Buffett highlighted the dilemma of addressing poverty in places where the rule of law is undermined by conflict, mentioning countries such as Congo or Sudan.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
But season-ending injuries to Rashawn Slater, Joe Alt and Harris, coupled with Hampton being undermined by ankle injuries, thwarted meaningful year-over-year gains (122 yards per game in 2025; 111 in 2024).—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In all, the fees were reduced by about $620,000 through automatic waivers and other savings, said Andrea Osgood, Eden Housing’s chief of real estate development.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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This population has been reduced by vehicle strikes and by animals sustaining rodenticide poisoning over the past decades.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Prosecutors said the brothers, while working with others, repeatedly and violently drugged, assaulted, and raped the women.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
16 Jan. 2026
-
To that end, Ian spends most of the new film getting blissfully high with a hulking zombie nudist (Chi Lewis-Parry), whom the good doctor has tamed into drugged-out submission and named Samson.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Demand weakened most sharply in Europe.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In Lebanon, the once formidable Hezbollah has been significantly weakened after 13 months of conflict with Israel and now faces a domestic disarmament campaign.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The men were loose-brained now, dulled by aguardiente and whatever narcotic Grejo had shot into himself, but the morning sun might deliver a hard-nosed clarity, the kind that could get Adi killed.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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The tool is a soft-hammer retoucher — a specialized tool used to sharpen dulled flint handaxes.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The boy is stupefied, snot intermingling with the puke dripping from his mouth to his navel.—
Matthew Shen Goodman,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Montoya Sanchez said the protest was organized internally by the families exhausted by the long detention and conditions that advocates say have included food with worms, constant illness and insufficient medical access.—
Valerie Gonzalez,
Twin Cities,
25 Jan. 2026
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With costs accelerating and incremental fixes exhausted, healthcare is approaching a breaking point.—
Robert Pearl,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Deadened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadened. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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