obtund

[ ob-tuhnd ]

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly Medicine/Medical. to blunt; dull; deaden:

   The drug's effect was sufficient to obtund pain.

obtund

/ ɒbˈtʌnd /

verb

1. rare.
   tr to deaden or dull

Derived Forms

• obˈtundent, adjectivenoun

Other Words From

• ob·tun·da·tion noun
• ob·tund·ent adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of obtund¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin obtundere “to beat at,” equivalent to ob- ob- + tundere “to strike”

Word History and Origins

Origin of obtund¹

C14: from Latin obtundere to beat against, from ob- against + tundere to belabour

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, The Concise Oxford Dictionary says to obtund is "to blunt or deaden".

From BBC

In the same way, the obtunding of the nerve cells in the cortex by anaesthetics or of the conducting nerve apparatus on the way to the brain by local anaesthesia, will have a like effect.

From Project Gutenberg

In men of genius the moral sense is sometimes obtunded, if not altogether absent.

From Project Gutenberg

Often at his desk there, his mind became strangely obtunded and he babbled vapidly; his big face pinched up till it seemed lean and grey, and he pitched forward, face down, upon the desk.

From Project Gutenberg

Daily contact with vice obtunds their first abhorrence of it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dampen
• debilitate
• sap
• soften
• undermine
• water down
• weaken