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deadening

American  
[ded-n-ing] / ˈdɛd n ɪŋ /

noun

  1. a device or material employed to deaden or render dull.

  2. a device or material preventing the transmission of sound.

  3. a woodland in which the trees are killed by girdling prior to being cleared.

Etymology

Origin of deadening

First recorded in 1775–85; deaden + -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She then delivered a speech that denounced the notion of cultural appropriation and its deadening effects on literature.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

Likewise, many well-known geniuses like Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger and Fritz Lang, who were chased out of Europe by the Nazis, brilliantly exposed the hypocrisies and soul deadening conformity of mainstream American culture.

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2026

If You're Glad I'll Be Frank imagined the speaking clock as a real woman speaking live, her internal monologue utterly at odds with the deadening repetitiveness of endlessly intoning "at the third stroke..."

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2025

And the shine from his latest gold medal hasn’t come close to deadening.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2024

Thoughts of Chuck flooded him again, replacing the crazy woman, deadening his heart.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.