deafen
English
Etymology
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
Verb
deafen (third-person singular simple present deafens, present participle deafening, simple past and past participle deafened)
- (transitive) To make deaf, either temporarily or permanently.
- (transitive) To make soundproof.
- to deafen a wall or a floor
- (transitive, rare, dialectal, sometimes figurative) To stun, as with noise.
- 1855, Macaulay
- Racine left the ground […] deafened, dazzled and tired to death.
- 1855, Macaulay
Translations
to make deaf
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to make soundproof
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