DEADEN

deaden

(verb) convert (metallic mercury) into a grey powder consisting of minute globules, as by shaking with chalk or fatty oil

deaden, blunt

(verb) make less lively, intense, or vigorous; impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; “Terror blunted her feelings”; “deaden a sound”

deaden

(verb) become lifeless, less lively, intense, or active; lose life, force, or vigor

dampen, deaden, damp

(verb) make vague or obscure or make (an image) less visible; “muffle the message”

deaden

(verb) lessen the momentum or velocity of; “deaden a ship’s headway”

deaden

(verb) make vapid or deprive of spirit; “deadened wine”

girdle, deaden

(verb) cut a girdle around so as to kill by interrupting the circulation of water and nutrients; “girdle the plant”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

deaden (third-person singular simple present deadens, present participle deadening, simple past and past participle deadened)

(transitive) To render less lively; to diminish; to muffle.

(intransitive) To become less lively; to diminish (by itself).

(transitive) To make soundproof.

Anagrams

• deaned

Source: Wiktionary


Dead"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deadened; p. pr. & vb. n. Deadening.] Etym: [From Dead; cf. AS. d to kill, put to death. See Dead, a.]

1. To make as dead; to impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; to lessen the force or acuteness of; to blunt; as, to deaden the natural powers or feelings; to deaden a sound.

As harper lays his open palm Upon his harp, to deaden its vibrations. Longfellow.

2. To lessen the velocity or momentum of; to retard; as, to deaden a ship's headway.

3. To make vapid or spiritless; as, to deaden wine.

4. To deprive of gloss or brilliancy; to obscure; as, to deaden gilding by a coat of size.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

25 March 2025

IMMOBILIZATION

(noun) fixation (as by a plaster cast) of a body part in order to promote proper healing; “immobilization of the injured knee was necessary”


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Coffee Trivia

Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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