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

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.

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Jonathan said in July that his father had been suffering serious convulsions and his mother was "numb" from anaemia and malnutrition.

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That when that final envelope was opened, we’d be on the edge of our seats... or at the very least not completely numbed to the inevitability of the winners.

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“I still go numb a little bit,” Jordan told “Today.”

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Related Words

• anesthetize 
• desensitize 
• dull 
• paralyze 
• stupefy