dumbing

present participle of dumb
as in shushing
to stop the noise or speech of the terrible news dumbed her for a long moment, and then she burst into tears

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for dumbing
Verb
  • Trae Young won Madison Square Garden’s undying enmity in the 2021 playoffs for the Atlanta Hawks, punctuating game-breaking shots by shushing the crowd or bowing to the fans and waving goodbye.
    Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
  • Wine country with kids in tow doesn’t have to mean a stressful afternoon of shushing and screen time.
    Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 June 2026
Verb
  • The researchers went further, looking at liver cells in the lab to see if silencing FNIP1 could turn on fat-burning genes.
    Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Trust the Brontës to be a squadron of Shtumtroopers, silencing people to bits.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • During the third act, in a cunning effect, when anyone picks up a phone, the screen’s contents are displayed on a wall as the lights fade, muting the friends onstage.
    Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
  • But the field has struggled to figure out a means of delivering RNA-muting molecules into organs and tissues beyond the liver, which has limited their reach.
    Elaine Chen, STAT, 9 June 2026
Verb
  • If you’re used to traditional decluttering strategies that focus on sorting and purging, house hushing might feel strange.
    Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 July 2026
  • There are a lot of ways to declutter out there—the pile method and the discernment method are two of them, and now, everyone’s hushing their house.
    Quincy Bulin, Southern Living, 28 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • Performed beneath a continuous gentle rain of warm seawater, this experience combines mineral-rich marine exposure and thermal comfort soothing aching muscles along the way and quieting the mind.
    Rana Good, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Aug. 2026
  • However, the Rams’ acquisition of Garrett puts a team that was firmly a Super Bowl favorite back in the conversation for a 2026 Super Bowl run, quieting the doubters who rose after the 2026 NFL Draft.
    Gladys Louise Tyler, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
Verb
  • In Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington state, voters are settling primaries in a host of races, including a key rematch between Democrats in a Missouri House contest.
    ABC News, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Some diners noticed that the knives had other uses — picking teeth, for example, and settling arguments.
    Judith Martin, Mercury News, 4 Aug. 2026
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Dumbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dumbing. Accessed 8 Aug. 2026.

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