BENUMB

numb, benumb, blunt, dull

(verb) make numb or insensitive; “The shock numbed her senses”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

benumb (third-person singular simple present benumbs, present participle benumbing, simple past and past participle benumbed)

(transitive) To make numb, as by cold or anesthetic.

(transitive, figurative) To deaden, dull (the mind, faculties, etc.).

Source: Wiktionary

Be*numb", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Benumbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Benumbing.] Etym: [OE. binomen, p. p. of binimen to take away, AS. beniman; pref. be + niman to take. See Numb, a., and cf. Benim.]

Definition: To make torpid; to deprive of sensation or sensibility; to stupefy; as, a hand or foot benumbed by cold. The creeping death benumbed her senses first. Dryden.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition