Dead·en v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deadened p. pr. & vb. n. Deadening.]
 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.
 5. To render impervious to sound, as a wall or floor; to deafen.

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 deadened
      adj 1: devoid of physical sensation; numb; "his gums were dead from
             the novocain"; "she felt no discomfort as the dentist
             drilled her deadened tooth"; "a public desensitized by
             continuous television coverage of atrocities" [syn: dead]
      2: made or become less intense; "the deadened pangs of hunger"