numb
pronunciation
How to pronounce numb in British English:
UK [nʌm]
How to pronounce numb in American English:
US [nʌm]
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- Verb:
- make numb or insensitive
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- Adjective:
- lacking sensation
- (followed by `to') not showing human feeling or sensitivity; unresponsive
- so frightened as to be unable to move; stunned or paralyzed with terror
Word Origin
- numb (adj.)
- c. 1400, nome, "deprived of motion or feeling," literally "taken, seized," from past participle of nimen "to take, seize," from Old English niman "to take, catch, grasp" (see nimble). The extraneous -b (to conform to comb, limb, etc.) appeared 17c. The notion is of being "taken" with palsy, shock, and especially cold. Figurative use from 1560s.
- numb (v.)
- 1550s, from numb (adj.). Related: Numbed; numbing.
Synonym
Example
- 1. He was just doing things to numb the pain .
- 2. On the day of my dad 's funeral , I was numb .
- 3. If your toes sometimes go numb during runs , you may actually be wearing running shoes that are too small or tying your shoelaces too tight .
- 4. All textbooks , philosophy classes , and conferences taught us that the christian faith is an " opiate of the people 's spirit " that westerners use to numb and neutralize the creativity of the chinese mind .
- 5. I was numb with fear .