deaden

views updated May 21 2018

dead·en / ˈdedn/ • v. [tr.] make (a noise or sensation) less intense. ∎  deprive of the power of sensation. ∎  deprive of force or vitality; stultify: [as adj.] (deadening) a deadening routine. ∎  make (someone) insensitive to something: laughter might deaden us to the moral issue.DERIVATIVES: dead·en·er n.