benumb

American  

[bih-nuhm] / bɪˈnʌm /

verb (used with object)

1. to make numb; deprive of sensation.

   benumbed by cold.

2. to render inactive; deaden or stupefy.

---

benumb British  

/ bɪˈnʌm /

verb

1. to make numb or powerless; deaden physical feeling in, as by cold

2. (usually passive) to make inactive; stupefy (the mind, senses, will, etc)

---

Other Word Forms

• benumbedness noun
• benumbingly adverb
• benumbment noun
• unbenumbed adjective

Etymology

Origin of benumb

1350–1400; back formation from Middle English benomen, past participle of benimen to take away, Old English beniman; cognate with Dutch benemen, German benehmen, Gothic biniman. See be-, nimble, numb

Example Sentences

Hermes skillfully twines together the many strands of Reed’s singular life — a benumbing suburban childhood, electroshock therapy, heroin addiction and artistic flowering at the feet of Schwartz and the Beats.

From Los Angeles Times

As friends and neighbors watch in silent awe, confused, benumbed, the father lowers the launcher and stage-growls the absolutely unnecessary: “It’s a boy.”

From Washington Post

Mark Twain visited twice, and after his second visit, wrote that the “wind was cold and benumbing. It came straight from the ocean, and I think there are icebergs out there somewhere.”

From The Guardian

Instead, we’ve been living in a state benumbed and a benumbed state, in which nihilism prevails and corruption oozes from the very top.

From New York Times

In the course of her Zoom interview with the Guardian, she also claims to feel like one of the characters in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, benumbed by a constant stream of media stimulation.

From The Guardian