NUMBING Synonyms: 283 Similar and Opposite Words

numbing 1 of 2

adjective

ˈnə-miŋ

Definition of numbing

as in boring

causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest an utterly numbing class in statistics

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in freezing

having a low or subnormal temperature the numbing air of that wintry morning

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

numbing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of numb

as in reducing

to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling wait for the medication to numb your mouth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of numbing

Adjective

Now after four years of ongoing horrors in Ukraine, and more than two years of watching slaughter and suffering in Gaza, the latest war filling our feeds is just another numbing form of content, a digital arena in which competing forces try to assert conflicting viewpoints. — Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2026 And that can be exhausting, numbing, and overwhelming. — James Speyer, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026

Verb

Within days, the video would be seen worldwide—the first of a numbing number of such recordings that would surface over the next decades. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026 The numbing power of the Sansho pepper really gives the Teba Karaage a completely different approach to wings. — Aly Walansky, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for numbing

Recent Examples of Synonyms for numbing

Adjective

As a matter of fact, this will probably be one of the more boring editions of this column.

— Gary Davenport, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Alice’s viewpoint is boring, and anyone who agonizes about it forever will never get to the interesting parts.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of boring

Adjective

But just outside in the freezing terrain lies a woman who appears to be frozen in the snow.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026
Fall brings cooler weather and colorful leaves, while winter offers fewer crowds but freezing nights and possible snow and ice.

— Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of freezing

Verb

Shower filters are better at reducing substances like chlorine, sediment and certain metals.

— Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
The Fed’s goal is to slow consumer and business spending by raising the cost of borrowing, thereby reducing demand for homes, cars and other goods and services, eventually cooling the economy and reducing upward pressure on prices.

— Paul Wiseman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of reducing

Adjective

Swatting at wasps is a bad idea, and simply running from them gets tiring.

— Nick Perry, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2026
Smith, too, struggled to escape the clutches of a Burnley defence that saw Hjalmar Ekdal replace the tiring Igor midway through the second half.

— Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of tiring

Adjective

Mayor Karen Bass and billionaire developer Rick Caruso appeared together at a groundbreaking for the new Palisades Recreation Center on Tuesday, in a sign that the sometimes icy relationship between the two 2022 mayoral rivals is thawing.

— Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Indeed, the polar opposite of both Number One’s icy demeanor and Chapel’s long-suffering yearning, Majel is remembered by friends and colleagues as a boisterous, brassy, take-no-prisoners presence.

— Scott Huver, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of icy

Verb

There’s a film sitting on top of it, and that film is what’s dulling the shine.

— Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2026
To protect himself, however, Trask has created an inhibitor field that de-powers any mutant nearby, dulling Wolverine’s healing power and ferocity.

— Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of dulling

Adjective

Complex carbs with fiber slow digestion and sugar absorption, while protein and fat further delay digestion, helping to stabilize blood sugar.

— Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2026
Longer messages mean slower communication, so people who study error-correcting codes devise more elaborate schemes to minimize the redundancy in the transmissions while maximizing the number of errors that can be corrected.

— Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of slow

Adjective

Bronwyn’s mother, Muzzy, who was lambasted all of last season for being cold and arguably cruel to her daughter, is notably softer in her first scene back — though the bob is as cunty as ever.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
At Fuerte Guaicaipuro, a military facility, investigators documented detainees being confined in pit-like cells dug below ground level and subjected to cold, food deprivation and other degrading treatment.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of cold

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numbers

numbing

numbness

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“Numbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/numbing. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of numbing

adjective

verb

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