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Synonyms

numbing

American  
[nuhm-ing] / ˈnʌm ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. causing numbness or insensibility; stupefying.

    the numbing effects of grief; a story repeated with numbing regularity.

Other Word Forms

  • numbingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of numbing

First recorded in 1625–35; numb + -ing 2

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.

While kids in regular public schools put in their numbing hours, students in spreading networks of classical charters get meaty reading assignments—myths, fairy tales, great books—while also memorizing sonnets and elements of America’s founding documents.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

But sometime over this last winter — that numbing, hoary stretch between mid-February and March — I decided this might be the year to reclaim a bit of seasonal delight.

From Salon • Oct. 7, 2025

"Is it, in fact, unhealthy and desensitising and numbing to feel joy when we're surrounded by so much suffering?" he asks.

From BBC • Sep. 1, 2025

At this point, they pop up with numbing regularity.

From New York Times • Dec. 4, 2024

She hears the sirens wailing as the cold envelops her, numbing her face and her hands, her feet in their thick-soled shoes.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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.