as in apathy
a lack of emotion or emotional expressiveness
the prisoner exhibited the numbness of someone who had spent more years behind bars than he could remember
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Recent Examples of numbness
Keeping one breast leaves a small chance that the cancer will return, but Simpson said the possibility was worth it to her to avoid numbness across much of her chest from having the nerves removed along with the mammary tissue.
—
Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2026
Both her grief and numbness are palpably captured by De Pue’s camera.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
Pay attention, however, to warning signs such as numbness, tingling, sharp pain, or next-day joint swelling, Wickham added.
—Danielle Zickl, Health, 26 Feb. 2026
Her sleep was getting worse, and the tingling numbness in her hands returned.
—Sarah Boden, NPR, 26 Feb. 2026
Frostbite symptoms include redness or skin pain, white or grayish-yellow skin areas, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy and numbness, according to the CDC.
—Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
Rather than involving the wrist’s median nerve, the ulnar nerve in the elbow is compressed, resulting in numbness and tingling in some fingers along with aching pain in the elbow.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
This is just one in a series of rituals designed to liven up the tedium of wealth, just another game in service of manipulating others while pushing back against an all-encompassing numbness.
—David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2026
Emotional numbness is mistaken for professionalism.
—Kelly Ehlers, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2026
Both her grief and numbness are palpably captured by De Pue’s camera.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 10 Mar. 2026
Pay attention, however, to warning signs such as numbness, tingling, sharp pain, or next-day joint swelling, Wickham added.
—Danielle Zickl, Health, 26 Feb. 2026
Her sleep was getting worse, and the tingling numbness in her hands returned.
—Sarah Boden, NPR, 26 Feb. 2026
Frostbite symptoms include redness or skin pain, white or grayish-yellow skin areas, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy and numbness, according to the CDC.
—Yi-Jin Yu, ABC News, 23 Feb. 2026
Rather than involving the wrist’s median nerve, the ulnar nerve in the elbow is compressed, resulting in numbness and tingling in some fingers along with aching pain in the elbow.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
This is just one in a series of rituals designed to liven up the tedium of wealth, just another game in service of manipulating others while pushing back against an all-encompassing numbness.
—David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2026
Emotional numbness is mistaken for professionalism.
—Kelly Ehlers, Rolling Stone, 10 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for numbness
Noun
-
The lack of a clear frontrunner reflects broader candidate disengagement and voter apathy rather than healthy political competition, with only four of eight Democratic candidates even appearing at a major housing panel just weeks before the primary.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The impossibility of keeping up breeds apathy and stymies opposition.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Over time, this creates a sense of emptiness, a lack of purpose and significance.—
Arthur C. Brooks
March 22,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The tens of thousands of conference attendees who surged into downtown San Jose this week provided a stark contrast to the typical daytime emptiness, and highlighted the otherwise sluggish recovery of the city’s economically vital conference and convention business.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Smelling of rotting grapes, the phlegm is musty and acetone-tinged, like a decanter of red wine forgotten in a dark kitchen corner after a dinner party, left to turn into vinegar.—
Courtney Crowder,
Des Moines Register,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Psychological treatment for anxiety and increased masking in public are in many cases sufficient to treat this unfortunate buildup of phlegm and embarrassment.—
Alexis Wilkinson,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The song has said everything that Ines can’t bring herself to, and her coldness chips away in the days and weeks that follow.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Some of it has to do with the coldness of the skin.—
Stephanie Innes,
AZCentral.com,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There’s an implication early on that Pumpkin harbors her own secrets, but the portrait remains too blank to sell her detachment as a riddle worth solving.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Create a safe place to practice independence so that the inevitable detachment from you is not too difficult, suggests Miller.—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Numbness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/numbness. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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