deafen

[ def-uhn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to make deaf:

   The accident deafened him for life.

2. to stun or overwhelm with noise:

   The pounding of the machines deafened us.

3. deaden ( def 3 ).
4. Obsolete. to render (a sound) inaudible, especially by a louder sound.

deafen

/ ˈdɛfən /

verb

1. tr to make deaf, esp momentarily, as by a loud noise

Other Words From

• deafen·ing·ly adverb
• half-deafened adjective
• non·deafened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deafen¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; deaf + -en ¹

Example Sentences

It’s deafening, really — perhaps because there’s a standing ovation beneath it.

From Washington Blade

Relatives told WLS that Melissa’s father jetted outside of the house after hearing the deafening gunshots.

From The Daily Beast

The circle-of-life spectacle comes with a deafening mating ritual—plus sex in the treetops, predation and also, inevitably, death.

From Time

Sara and Matt Taglieri were enjoying dinner at their home in New Hampshire on Tuesday when a deafening blast knocked pictures off their walls and shook their house’s foundation.

From Washington Post

Three species make up Brood X, and they are known for their fire-engine-red eyes, their deafening choruses and their dramatic emergence every 17 years.

From Washington Post

Silence helps them to continue depriving their people of opportunities…the silence is so loud that it might deafen society.

From The Daily Beast

He told Barb that a mortar landed close enough to temporarily deafen him.

From The Daily Beast

He cannot hear us up there; and, by the belt of Ashur, the king's voice raised in anger is enough to deafen a man in both ears!

From Project Gutenberg

Trembling she took shelter inside the open stable door, her heart beating so hard it seemed to deafen her.

From Project Gutenberg

Them racketin's would deafen the saints themselves, so they would.

From Project Gutenberg

The noise of the discharge is an evil, it ought to be made to do work, not deafen.

From Project Gutenberg

Will you give me my cue—it is of no use to ask him when we are to deafen you.

From Project Gutenberg