numb

USNUM/nʌm/

Adjectivenumber, numbest

Verbnumbs, numbing, numbed

8 meanings of numb

Practice

1
adjective
Not able to feel anything in a part of your body.
Like when your foot 'falls asleep' and you can't feel it anymore.
My fingers were numb after the long walk in the cold.
The dentist made my whole mouth numb before the filling.
Similardeadened, insensible
Note
2
adjective
Not able to feel normal emotions, often after something very sad or shocking.
Like when bad news is so big that you stop feeling anything at all.
After hearing the news, she felt numb for days.
He went numb and could not cry at the funeral.
Similarstunned
Note
3
verbtransitive
To make a part of the body or your feelings unable to feel.
Like putting a thick glove on your hand so you can't feel what you touch.
The cold wind numbed his ears within minutes.
Dentists use a gel to numb the gums before a shot.
Similarbenumb
Note
4
verbintransitive
To slowly stop being able to feel, usually in a part of the body.
Like a hand that slowly 'goes to sleep' until you can't feel it.
My hands numb quickly when I forget my gloves.
His feet had numbed in the icy water.
Note
5
verbtransitive
To make a feeling less strong, like pain or sadness.
Like turning down the heat so the pain feels weaker.
The medicine numbed the pain in his back.
A few drinks can numb the sadness for a little while.
Similardull
Oppositeintensify
Note
6
verbtransitive
To make the mind slower or less sharp.
Like fog that makes it hard to think clearly.
Hours of boring work numbed her mind completely.
Too much screen time can numb a child's focus.
Similardull
Oppositesharpen
Note
7
adjectivedialectalMaine
Stupid or slow to understand things.
Like someone whose brain seems to be switched off.
Only a numb fool would lend money to a stranger he just met.
Stop acting numb. You understand perfectly well what I mean.
Similarstupid, dim, dense
Oppositeclever, bright
Note

Less common meaning

8
adjectiveobsolete
Causing a part of the body to lose feeling.
Like an icy wind that takes away all feeling.
A numb frost crept through the old hall and stole the feeling from their hands.
The numb cold of the dungeon left the prisoner unable to move his fingers.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of numb apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from an old word 'nim', meaning 'to take'. The 'b' at the end was added later and was never spoken.