deafen Hear it!

deafen Definition

deafen (def′ən)

transitive verb

  1. to make deaf
  2. to overwhelm with noise
  3. Archaic to drown out (a sound) with a louder sound

deafen Related Forms
deaf′·en·ing adjective, noun deaf′·en·ingly adverb
deafen Synonyms

deafen

v.

make deaf, cause or induce deafness, stun, split the ears*; see damage 1, hurt 1.

deafen Usage Examples

Object

  • roar: Despite the almost deafening roar of chickens coming home to roost in the numbers, Gordon Brown did not say sorry.
  • silence: All we had from the British was a deafening silence.
  • din: Amid a deafening din several busloads of police reinforcements arrived.
  • applause: The deafening applause that greeted the band back on stage for the encore was enough to impress the most hardened industry big-wig.
  • cheer: Robbie then said his goodbyes and thanked the audience as he took his bows with his band and left the stage to deafening cheers.
  • noise: Being bathed in a wash of deafening guitar noise is lovely.

Subject

  • noise: Over, and over, and over again, until you're deafened by the noise.
  • meningitis: The team will investigate the progress in speech skills of young children who are deafened by meningitis and have had cochlear implants.

Modifying Another Word

  • almost: Despite the almost deafening roar of chickens coming home to roost in the numbers, Gordon Brown did not say sorry.
  • nearly: The noise of the German guns nearly deafened us.
  • quite: The noise from the surface was now quite deafening.
  • absolutely: Yet the silence from Bush and Blair - twins of evil - is absolutely deafening.
  • not: The plug is pulled and the silence is not deafening, but a weight is taken off all the same.
  • truly: Cameron's silence regarding the middle east is truly deafening.

Preposition: by

  • noise: Over, and over, and over again, until you're deafened by the noise.
  • meningitis: The team will investigate the progress in speech skills of young children who are deafened by meningitis and have had cochlear implants.

Preposition: from

  • quarter: The losing teams make a point on cheering loud congratulations over the radio â fairly deafening from close quarters!