1
as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
an excess of detail deadens much of the mystery novel's suspense
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to reduce
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
a couple of aspirins deadened the headache
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deaden
Another method Tyler has had success with is using hearing aids not to amplify sound but to deaden it.
—
Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2024
The weight of responsibility is no longer about maintaining your soul while deadened by the granite-countertop heft of 2005’s suburban expectations.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
The physicians had injected the woman’s arm with the anesthetic lidocaine—a dose strong enough to deaden her limb for surgery.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
No one else had beached their boat and swam toward me as alpine runoff deadened their limbs.
—Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 2 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deaden 
Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2024
The weight of responsibility is no longer about maintaining your soul while deadened by the granite-countertop heft of 2005’s suburban expectations.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
The physicians had injected the woman’s arm with the anesthetic lidocaine—a dose strong enough to deaden her limb for surgery.
—Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Apr. 2018
No one else had beached their boat and swam toward me as alpine runoff deadened their limbs.
—Maggie Slepian, Longreads, 2 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for deaden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deaden
Verb
-
This is all designed to undermine future competitions.Renee Dudley, ProPublica, 15 Nov. 2024
-
In recent months, U.S., British, German and other European officials have accused Russia of organizing an increasingly aggressive sabotage campaign aimed at undermining and disrupting Western assistance to Ukraine.Tom Costello, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Opened in 1956, Sunnyvale High School, the city’s second public high school, worked to achieve collaboration between students and educators, aiming to reduce violence and enrich the curriculum during the interracial tension that marked the 1960s and ’70s.Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
-
Roofing contractors said good roofs with years of life left are being replaced ahead of schedule to allow insurers to reduce their risk going forward.Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 10 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Such a test would be a sign of China’s weakening influence over Pyongyang and could spur Seoul to try to acquire nuclear weapons of its own—a position that both South Korea and the United States officially oppose but is gaining traction in Western policy circles.Sungmin Cho, Foreign Affairs, 12 Nov. 2024
-
With its climate leadership perceived to be weakening, New Zealand may get a cooler reception at COP than in previous years, especially from Pacific Island nations, Cooper said.Mahalia Dobson, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Aging can dull our ability to navigate using spatial memory, the form of memory responsible for recording and recovering the information needed to remember the location of objects in our environment.New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2024
-
Clearly, the sands of time have not dulled his feelings.Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
-
The divisive race has left Americans exhausted and on edge, Sonoma State Political Science Professor David McCuan said.Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
-
Javonte Williams, Running Back Williams, 24, came to Denver with high expectations after the team exhausted a second-round pick on the North Carolina product back in 2021.Vincent Frank, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
Republicans take Senate, House control remains uncertain 02:24 Although markets have pushed to new highs this year, Wall Street analysts warn that some of Trump's key policy proposals could rekindle U.S. inflation, dampen economic growth and drive up the nation's debt.Alain Sherter, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2024
-
As world governments sought to spend their way out of the pandemic, inflation rose and central banks sharply raised interest rates, dampening equity markets and deflating valuations across the spectrum of private assets.Control Risks, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
In October, the company revealed plans to raise as much as $35 billion to refill its quickly draining treasury, a tricky dance considering that new debt would threaten its barely-there investment-grade credit rating.Melvin Backman, Quartz, 5 Nov. 2024
-
Independent of the probable timeline for making repairs to Tropicana Field, it can't be used as an outdoor venue either, because the stadium was not engineered to drain rainwater away from the field.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
As new ways become familiar, employees recognize their advantages, and resistance gradually diminishes.Peter Follows, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
-
Black Lives Matter is severely diminished as an institution.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near deaden
Cite this Entry
“Deaden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deaden. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share