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
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Recent Examples of deadened
Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
Merrill had the same impulse—the need to become a self not necessarily free of all that money could buy but not crippled or deadened by it, either.
—Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
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
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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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When policies deter people from receiving preventive care like getting a seasonal influenza vaccine, public health efforts are directly undermined.—
Dr. Lauren Palladino,
Hartford Courant,
22 Mar. 2026
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But any argument about media diversity was undermined by the department’s inaccessibility.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Ortiz's public defender attempted to have the woman's bail reduced, per Fox 11.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
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The crucial knowledge required to do this practice well cannot be reduced to rules that can be conveyed in a classroom.—
David Brooks,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Igor, for his part, is the sort of hero who, unless he is tied up, drugged or hit from behind, will get the best of any opponent; even one with a gun.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Minnelli writes that Garland would remain in bed for days, depressed and heavily drugged.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The 14-month war that ended in November 2024, severely weakened the group, with many of its political and military commanders killed.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
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If Democrats attach every policy wish list to the affordability banner, the message will dissolve into the same blur of priorities that has weakened the party before.—
Richard Yanowitch,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And even supporters of the systems say searchers can become dulled by a multitude of false alarms and miss the few actual weapons.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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That all unfortunately overshadows the palpable affection Gosling and Emma Stone have in their second of three movie romances, and even Gosling’s playboy charisma gets dulled a bit.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 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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Residents of Tehran, the Iranian capital, say they are exhausted by the bombs that have battered their city on a daily basis and terrified of the security checkpoints that have popped up looking for spies.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
28 Mar. 2026
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The inside-out tandem of point guard Kiki Rice and 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts — two of six UCLA seniors who played in the Final Four last season — eventually wore down a Minnesota defense that exhausted its hustle capital in the first half.—
John Shipley,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Deadened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadened. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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