as in to reduce
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
a succession of personal tragedies had benumbed him to all grief
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of benumb
Because both actors look like lumpish proletarian versions of Ingmar Bergman stars — Alma Pöysti, radiant yet benumbed, plays Ansa like a dish-towel Bibi Andersson, and Jussi Vatanen could be the schlump brother of Max von Sydow (with a dollop of Ryan Gosling).
—
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 May 2023
What’s destructive, and eventually benumbing, is the kitchen-sink clutter of fantasy, reality, wish-fulfillment and glib enchantment.
—Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 24 Jan. 2019
But her core insight into how even mediocrities can be institutionally benumbed and conscripted into heinous projects remains fertile.
—George Prochnik, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 May 2023
What’s destructive, and eventually benumbing, is the kitchen-sink clutter of fantasy, reality, wish-fulfillment and glib enchantment.
—Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 24 Jan. 2019
But her core insight into how even mediocrities can be institutionally benumbed and conscripted into heinous projects remains fertile.
—George Prochnik, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for benumb
Verb
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Standardization can also reduce due diligence burdens.—
The Sorenson Impact Institute,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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Higher temperatures may also reduce the sugar content of maple sap, meaning producers will need to collect and boil more sap to produce the same quantities of syrup.—
Nina Foster,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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That dulled the outcome for A’s fans but not all of the energy for fans soaking in the historic moment.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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More than a century later, fine particles of pollution still clung to its feathers, dulling what once was a scarlet red breast to a mottled gray.—
Corinne Purtill,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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No government funds go to artistic programming, which has blunted potential criticism about censorship or propaganda.—
Joanna Dee Das,
The Conversation,
4 Apr. 2025
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Effective Ukrainian radio jamming has blunted Russia’s advantage in precision glide bombs by blocking the signals between the bombs and their navigation satellites—often causing the bombs to veer off target.—
David Axe,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Infused with menthol, these drops work quickly to numb the throat and open nasal passages.—
Allison Palmer,
Miami Herald,
3 Mar. 2025
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Use a Cold Pack Cold therapy has been found to instantly reduce migraine pain by constricting blood flow and numbing the pain in affected areas.—
Cathy Nelson,
Verywell Health,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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As time went on, her pain diminished, but August decided to go to the emergency room.—
Vanessa Etienne,
People.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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The VMAs, which have seen their social capital diminish over the past few years, delivered a promising ceremony in 2024.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
3 Apr. 2025
Verb
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One way that could happen would be for foreign countries to weaken their currency to make the same product cheaper in dollars for tariff purposes, without raising the end cost to the consumer.—
Brendan Coffey,
Sportico.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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But that progress stalled out around the turn of the year, which weakened the case for further rate cuts and ultimately prompted the Fed to stand pat in January.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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America’s morning television brightens the day but deadens the soul.—
Joel Golby,
airmail.news,
5 Oct. 2024
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One way of deadening the mind to distractions is by blowing opponents off the court.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes,
5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The swelling in the area never subsided, prompting surgery to clean up bone spurs that had traveled dangerously close to his Achilles tendon.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
1 Apr. 2025
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The rain, expected to begin late Sunday, will subside by Monday afternoon, but below-average temperatures will hang around all week, according to the National Weather Service.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Benumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/benumb. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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