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deafen

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From deaf +‎ -en (verbal suffix), compare Middle English deven, deaven (to make deaf), Old English ādēafian (to deafen), Dutch verdoven (to stupefy, deafen), German betäuben (to stun, stupefy, deafen).

Pronunciation

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Verb

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deafen (third-person singular simple present deafens, present participle deafening, simple past and past participle deafened)

  1. (transitive) To make deaf, either temporarily or permanently.
    The head injury deafened her for life.
  2. (transitive) To make soundproof.
    to deafen a wall or a floor
  3. (transitive, rare, dialectal, sometimes figurative) To stun, as with noise.

Derived terms

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Translations

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