deafening

[def-uh-ning]

adjective

1. overwhelmingly loud; booming; earsplitting: the deafening sound of a chainsaw.

   the crowd’s deafening roar;

   the deafening sound of a chainsaw.

noun

1. deadening.

deafening

/ ˈdɛfənɪŋ /

adjective

1. excessively loud

   deafening music

Other Word Forms

• half-deafening adjective
• nondeafening adjective
• nondeafeningly adverb
• quasi-deafening adjective
• deafeningly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of deafening¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; deafen + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

"There is this noise around parental rights but a deafening silence around children's rights."

Read more on BBC

The applause from America’s wise men and women would have been deafening if someone else had said these words.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nearly the same scene repeated itself in the fourth inning, two strikeouts followed by a deafening home run against Chad Patrick.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His victory was met with a deafening cheer from the hometown crowd; who had earlier sung along to every word as he performed the title track of his prize-winning album.

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My guess is that parts of “11,000 Strings” struck some listeners as deafening.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• blaring www.thesaurus.com
• noisy 
• ringing www.thesaurus.com
• roaring 
• rowdy 
• thunderous 
• vociferous