deaden

American  

[ded-n] / ˈdɛd n /

verb (used with object)

1. to make less sensitive, active, energetic, or forcible; weaken.

   to deaden sound; to deaden the senses; to deaden the force of a blow.

   Synonyms:

   dull, numb, lessen, diminish, blunt

2. to lessen the velocity of; retard.

   to deaden the headway of a ship.

3. to make impervious to sound, as a floor.

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verb (used without object)

1. to become dead.

deaden British  

/ ˈdɛdən /

verb

1. to make or become less sensitive, intense, lively, etc; damp or be damped down; dull

2. (tr) to make acoustically less resonant

   he deadened the room with heavy curtains

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Other Word Forms

• deadener
  noun
• deadening
  adjective
• undeadened
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of deaden

First recorded in 1655–65; dead + -en ¹

Example Sentences

The biggest is the ball and the size of the stitches, Nathan said, and MLB made slight adjustments to deaden the ball prior to the 2021 season.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 7, 2023

With her red-lipped rictus grin, her eyes that can beam with earnestness one minute and deaden with murderous resignation the next, Goth makes a sublime demon, but she’s also a creature of irreducible pathos.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2022

“Combine that with his ability to soften the hands and deaden the contact,” Annacone wrote, “and you have terrific ingredients to execute that deft touch.”

From Washington Post • May 27, 2022

The most common form of cricket in Qatar is played with tennis balls — either regulation ones covered in insulation tape to deaden their bounce or, more frequently, special weighted versions imported from India.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2022

I shake my hand to deaden the pain.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• desensitize
• impair