Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to numb
Participle: numbed
Gerund: numbing
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | numb |
| you | numb |
| he;she;it | numbs |
| we | numb |
| you | numb |
| they | numb |
Perfect
| I | have numbed |
| you | have numbed |
| he;she;it | has numbed |
| we | have numbed |
| you | have numbed |
| they | have numbed |
Past
| I | numbed |
| you | numbed |
| he;she;it | numbed |
| we | numbed |
| you | numbed |
| they | numbed |
Pluperfect
| I | had numbed |
| you | had numbed |
| he;she;it | had numbed |
| we | had numbed |
| you | had numbed |
| they | had numbed |
Future
| I | will numb |
| you | will numb |
| he;she;it | will numb |
| we | will numb |
| you | will numb |
| they | will numb |
Future Perfect
| I | will have numbed |
| you | will have numbed |
| he;she;it | will have numbed |
| we | will have numbed |
| you | will have numbed |
| they | will have numbed |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | numb |
| you | numb |
| he;she;it | numb |
| we | numb |
| you | numb |
| they | numb |
Perfect
| I | have numbed |
| you | have numbed |
| he;she;it | have numbed |
| we | have numbed |
| you | have numbed |
| they | have numbed |
Imperfect
| I | numbed |
| you | numbed |
| he;she;it | numbed |
| we | numbed |
| you | numbed |
| they | numbed |
Pluperfect
| I | had numbed |
| you | had numbed |
| he;she;it | had numbed |
| we | had numbed |
| you | had numbed |
| they | had numbed |
Conditional
Present
| I | would numb |
| you | would numb |
| he;she;it | would numb |
| we | would numb |
| you | would numb |
| they | would numb |
Perfect
| I | would have numbed |
| you | would have numbed |
| he;she;it | would have numbed |
| we | would have numbed |
| you | would have numbed |
| they | would have numbed |
Imperative
| you | numb |
| we | Let's numb |
| you | numb |
Verbs conjugated like 'numb'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'numb'
dumb,
nub,
tumb,
benumb,
bomb,
bub,
bulb,
bum,
bump,
comb,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- deaden
- desensitize, dull, paralyze, stun, blunt, benumb, chill, freeze
Antonyms
- to cause pain
- alleviate, analgesize, benumb, comfort, dave, ease, heal, relieve, soothe, hurt
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. 1440,
nome, lit. "taken, seized," from pp. of
nimen "to take, seize," from O.E.
niman "to take" (see nimble). The extraneous
-b (to conform to
comb, limb, etc.) appeared 17c. The notion is of being "taken" with palsy, shock, and especially cold. The verb is from 1602.
2. From the past participle of nim (“to take”). Compare German benommen (“dazed, numb”) and Old Norse numinn. The final ⟨b⟩ is a later addition; it was never pronounced, and did not appear in the original word. See: German, old spelling '
benommen'.
Sample Sentences
-
The dentist gave me novocaine to numb my tooth before drilling, thank goodness.
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When I first heard the news, I was numbed by the shock.
-
The ravviſh danke of clumzie vvinter ramps / The fluent ſummers vaine: and drizling ſleete / Chilleth the vvan bleak cheek of the numd earth, / VVhilſt ſnarling guſts nibble the iuyceles leaues, / From the nak't ſhuddring branch; […] [1600 or 1601 (date written), I. M. [i.e., John Marston], “The Prologue”, in Antonios Reuenge. The Second Part. […], London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, and are to be soulde [by Matthew Lownes] […], published 1602, →OCLC, signature A2, recto:]
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But her main concern is the hard seating that numbs the nether regions. [2020 April 22, “Letters: Open Access: Not easy for laptops”, in Rail, page 31:]
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He turned to alcohol to numb his pain.
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[I was] thankful for the pain, which helped to numb my terror. [1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, “The Grey Woman”, in The Grey Woman and Other Tales, London: Smith, Elder & Co.:]
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[…] hunger, fatigue, and despairing hopelessness had numbed his brain […] [1912, Saki, “The Hounds of Fate”, in The Chronicles of Clovis, London: John Lane, page 219:]
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The noise, the rush of air past our ears, was positively terrific. It actually seemed to numb the senses and make it almost impossible to take in impressions at all. [1927, Hugh Lofting, Doctor Dolittle’s Garden, Part Four, Chapter 6:]
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[The sofa] exhaled a breath of trapped ancient farts, barf-smell, and antiseptic, the parfum de asylum that gradually numbed my nose to all other scents on the ward. [2004, Cory Doctorow, chapter 13, in Eastern Standard Tribe:]
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[…] after fumbling with numbing fingers for ten or fifteen minutes, he waved his hand with a gesture of despair […] [1918, Lewis R. Freeman, “Wonders of the Teleferica”, in Many Fronts, London: John Murray, page 270:]
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[…] once more his feet began to numb. Again he got down and stamped the circulation going, but as soon as he began to ride again they numbed. [1919, Arthur Murray Chisholm, chapter 18, in The Land of Strong Men, New York: H.K. Fly:]