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benumbed

benumbed

8.3
Not able to feel or react after watching too much news
  • adjective
  • /bɪˈnʌmd/
translation icon : insensible

Examples

  • Feeling benumbed, overwhelmed, he did so; then pulled out into the street.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Or possibly this momentarily benumbed state was only a lull, a cease-fire.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • After standing in the cold for too long, my fingers felt benumbed and unresponsive.

  • The persistent noise of the crowd left him feeling benumbed and detached from his surroundings.

  • She had become benumbed by the constant stress of work and could no longer feel enthusiasm.

Synonyms

deadened
vsbenumbed
6.0

A part of the body that has no feeling so you cannot feel touch

results from overexposure or excessive stimulation
hyposensitive
vsbenumbed
  • Specialized
9.2

Feeling and noticing touch, pain, sound, or emotions less than normal

results from overexposure rather than being a baseline condition
dulled
vsbenumbed
4.3

Made less strong or clear

results in a stronger loss of feeling after too much stimulation

Antonyms

488 2.9

Aware of and careful about other people's feelings

61 4.0

React quickly and helpfully to people and things

How Numb

insensible
1 7.5
benumbed
8.3
numb
57 3.1
tingling
22 3.4

Surface Forms

benumbed positive

Morphology

benumbed = benumb (transparent) = be + numb + ed

Derived from the verb 'benumb' with the participial/adjectival '-ed', keeping the literal sense of being made numb or unresponsive.

Etymology

Benumbed is formed from the prefix be- and the common word numb, which means 'without feeling'. So benumbed can also mean being made 'without feeling' inside, like when too much bad news makes you stop reacting.