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"