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.

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Etymology

Origin of deadening

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

Example Sentences

The Black Hawk helicopter was ready for take off – its rotor blades slicing through the air in the deadening heat of the Colombian Amazon.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

The decision still means joy or despair, but the virtual nature of acceptance and rejection, the evidence of no human hand, is a little deadening.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 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

We already know you can kill what’s up on-screen, deadening us with your storytelling.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2023

It was a false spring day, which, like Maureen, had pierced the shell of a deadening winter.

From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison

Related Words

• calming