Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To make deaf, especially momentarily by a loud noise.
- intransitive verb To make soundproof.
- intransitive verb To cause permanent or momentary deafness.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make deaf; deprive of the power of hearing.
- To stun; render incapable of perceiving or discriminating sounds distinctly: as, to be deafened with clamor or tumult.
- In architecture, to render impervious to sound (as a door or a partition) by means of sound-boarding or pugging.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To make deaf; to deprive of the power of hearing; to render incapable of perceiving sounds distinctly.
- transitive verb (Arch.) To render impervious to sound, as a partition or floor, by filling the space within with mortar, by lining with paper, etc.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To make
deaf , eithertemporarily orpermanently - verb To make
soundproof
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb make or render deaf
- verb be unbearably loud
- verb make soundproof
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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As a society, we too often do what I was guilty of in college: in an attempt to protect ourselves, we deafen ourselves to the stories of those who seem "different."
Chris Stedman: Listen To Lupe, Ellison And Eboo: It's Time To Hear From More Muslims Chris Stedman 2011
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And why the deafen silence of the normally vocal Republicans remain mute, with no loud attacks on everything the Media Imperial President has done, with no rhetorical shouting points repeated ad nauseum, just taking the high road with a few reasonable discussions over actual policy points?
Matthew Yglesias » The Think Tank Arm of the Military-Industrial Complex 2009
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And then I take a deep breath; deafen myself to the whining, blind myself to the mess and gather up my kids and our things.
Archive 2009-01-01 2009
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Two recent headlines tugged at my heartstrings: Could ocean acidification deafen dolphins? and Ancient tribal language becomes extinct as last speaker dies.
Two Tragic Tastes That Taste Tragic Together « Gerry Canavan 2010
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As for the suburban commuters who in their road rage deafen us with their horns and shrieking brakes, clog our streets, pollute our air and regularly kill us, they vote elsewhere.
Bike lanes or homeless shelters? Washington John Glad 2011
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And then I take a deep breath; deafen myself to the whining, blind myself to the mess and gather up my kids and our things.
Encumbered 2009
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I am also hoping to see acceptance of sound suppressors in the U.S. so we don't have to deafen ourselves or our dogs.
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It was incredible and made me ponder what it would have been like in pre-colonial days when flocks of birds could effectively block the sun out or the sound of hundreds of thousands (more?) birds nesting could deafen a person ...
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I am also hoping to see acceptance of sound suppressors in the U.S. so we don't have to deafen ourselves or our dogs.
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The silence is your canvas, that's your frame, that's what you work on; don't try and deafen it out.
'Life' 2010
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