numbly

American  

[nuhm-lee] / ˈnʌm li /

adverb

1. without physical sensation or the ability to move.

   It was a spicy dish, but it was kind of fun to bite into the peppers and wait numbly till I could use my mouth again!

2. in a way characterized by an inability to act or to feel emotion, as after a great shock or when severely depressed.

   Exhausted and traumatized, she numbly watched as others ran to salvage what they could from the wreckage of the building.

   Sometimes you can go through life asleep, lulled by the routine, pushing through numbly to the next thing.

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Etymology

Origin of numbly

numb ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

I stood gazing numbly at the jumble of food on my cot.

From Literature

The bear couldn’t have moved that fast, she thought numbly.

From Literature

I nodded numbly at the deluge of instructions, latching on to do what she does.

From Literature

For here lie children numbly bearing witness to the latest food crisis to ravage northern Ethiopia.

From BBC

Dr. Samer al-Sheikh stared numbly at the photograph of himself on his phone.

From New York Times