numb

[nuhm]

adjective

number, numbest 

1. deprived of physical sensation or the ability to move.

   fingers numb with cold.

2. manifesting or resembling numbness.

   a numb sensation.

3. incapable of action or of feeling emotion; enervated; prostrate.

   numb with grief.

4. lacking or deficient in emotion or feeling; indifferent.

   She was numb to their pleas for mercy.

verb (used with object)

1. to make numb.

numb

/ nʌm /

adjective

1. deprived of feeling through cold, shock, etc

2. unable to move; paralysed

3. characteristic of or resembling numbness

   a numb sensation

verb

1. to make numb; deaden, shock, or paralyse

Other Word Forms

• numbly adverb
• numbness noun
• half-numb adjective
• unnumbed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of numb¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English nome, literally, “taken, seized,” variant of nomen, numen, Old English numen, past participle of niman “to take, steal”; nim ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of numb¹

C15: nomen, literally: taken (with paralysis), from Old English niman to take; related to Old Norse nema, Old High German niman

Example Sentences

In fact, pleasure is necessary, especially for the regularly tortured Valentin who seems to have been numb for a long time.

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Mr. Leguizamo eases up on the ferociously funny clowning at which he is so expert to emphasize Nelson’s frantic desperation to avoid having to admit he has failed his family, numbing his anxieties with booze.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“My back goes numb and I rush out of my room,” said Yen, who is 60, pointing to the spot by an interior wall, beneath a cross, where she takes cover.

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And I was just like trying to numb everything out because I was forced to just be there with myself.

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But sometime over this last winter — that numbing, hoary stretch between mid-February and March — I decided this might be the year to reclaim a bit of seasonal delight.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• anesthetize 
• desensitize 
• dull 
• paralyze 
• stupefy