numb

American  

[nuhm] / nʌm /

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make numb.

numb British  

/ nʌm /

adjective

1. deprived of feeling through cold, shock, etc

2. unable to move; paralysed

3. characteristic of or resembling numbness

   a numb sensation

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verb

1. to make numb; deaden, shock, or paralyse

Other Word Forms

• half-numb adjective
• numbly adverb
• numbness noun
• unnumbed adjective

Etymology

Origin of numb

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

Example Sentences

That lasted until March, when the water was so cold, my face went numb and I started swallowing seawater because I couldn’t tell my mouth was open.

From The Wall Street Journal

Bite into a Maldivian Scotch Bonnet, and you’ll start to feel your tongue get numb, your forehead sweat and your brain crave a glass of milk.

From Salon

Somehow, I feel numb and like I’m on fire at the same time.

From Literature

If anything, such a war has been eerily normalized in our collective consciousness and we’ve become remarkably numb to and fatalistic about it.

From Salon

“The lack of investment in these communities has created a culture where this continues to happen, and people are numb to it,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• anesthetize
• desensitize
• dull
• paralyze
• stupefy