deafening
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
- deafeningly adverb
- half-deafening adjective
- nondeafening adjective
- nondeafeningly adverb
- quasi-deafening adjective
Etymology
Origin of deafening
Explanation
When a sound is deafening, it's overwhelmingly loud. You may think you're prepared after a flash of lightning, but the deafening sound of thunder can still make you jump! Deafening noises are so loud that they block out all other sounds. The deafening siren from a passing ambulance easily overwhelms the quiet conversation at your breakfast table, and a deafening roar inside a music venue may make you regret your decision to see your favorite band live. While deafen means "make deaf," deafening generally means something closer to "making you temporarily unable to hear."
Vocabulary lists containing deafening
Turn It Up! Synonyms for "Loud"
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3
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Unit 1, Week 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The incessant sales pitches are buffeted by the usual deafening pounding music, which makes Vin Scully Avenue seem like Las Vegas Boulevard.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
Despite Evy’s mother growing less responsive each day, the house’s quiet feels deafening — the distinctly hollow sound of silence filling the place where life should be.
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
When a deafening drone tore a hole in her roof in northern Iraq, Iranian Kurd Amine Poursaid, gripped by fear of another attack, packed her family's belongings and prepared to escape.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
For a recurring exhibition that is often chided for its deafening, in-your-face messaging, this edition of the show is all but silent; for a show that’s known—almost famous—for generating controversy, this outing is entirely anodyne.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
Just the deafening silence of everybody you know forgetting your name.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
