deaden

American

[ded-n] / ˈdɛd n /

verb (used with object)

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
to lessen the velocity of; retard.

to deaden the headway of a ship.
to make impervious to sound, as a floor.

verb (used without object)

to become dead.

deaden British

/ ˈdɛdən /

verb

to make or become less sensitive, intense, lively, etc; damp or be damped down; dull
(tr) to make acoustically less resonant

he deadened the room with heavy curtains

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of deaden

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

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.

The flares instantly set fire to the surrounding acoustic foam panels, installed to deaden the sound.

From BBC • Jan. 17, 2026

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

There is always a narrative risk when recapitulating events in historical fiction — predetermination can deaden the pulse.

From New York Times • Jan. 3, 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

I shake my hand to deaden the pain.

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023