numb
/nʌm/ verb C1- To cause to become numb (physically or emotionally). · The dentist gave me novocaine to numb my tooth before drilling, thank goodness.· When I first heard the news, I was numbed by the shock.
- To cause (a feeling) to be less intense. · He turned to alcohol to numb his pain.
- To cause (the mind, faculties, etc.) to be less acute.
- To become numb (especially physically).
He/she/it numbs · Past numbed · Past participle numbed · -ing form numbing
Verb forms
- Base form
- numb
- He/she/it
- numbs
- Past
- numbed
- Past participle
- numbed
- -ing form
- numbing
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
You remember the kind of numb cold which used to come at evening, a deadly, sickening sort of cold, very different from a crisp healthy frost.
The older man seemed numbed and dazed with a heavy, sullen expression upon his strongly-marked face.
Hitherto I had been acting, and action had numbed thought.
Sir Henry and I held out our hands to it, for we were numb from our long drive.
Other matches
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