deaden
verb (used with object)
to make less sensitive, active, energetic, or forcible; weaken.
have deadened
-
present perfectof deaden.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
This struggling single mother confronted head-on a lack of opportunities that should have deadened all hope, but instead fueled her determination to thrive and to prosper.
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2011
The night, however, was windy; and the rustle of the pine forest would have deadened all sound, except anything sharp, and near.
From The Young Franc Tireurs And Their Adventures in the Franco-Prussian War by F. T. Young
As with lunar caustic, you have deadened the spiritual nerves by the help of which one believes simply and without question, so that even if I would believe I have lost the power.
From Without Dogma by Henryk Sienkiewicz
"We were some distance off, and this fog may have deadened them."
From The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
And yet, could she have drawn the veil once more before her eyes and so have deadened that agonising pain, she would not have done so.
From The Safety Curtain, and Other Stories by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell
