numb

CEFRC1

/nʌm/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Unable to feel physically or emotionally.

  2. 02

    verb

    To make someone unable to feel.

Examples

  • My hands are numb from the cold.

  • Your gums will get numb in a few minutes.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Dumb or stupid.

  2. Emotionally unable to feel or respond in a normal way.

  3. Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.

More examples

In context

  • The swimmers were numb with cold.

  • numb with shock; numb with boredom

  • fingers numb with cold

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After sitting in the cold for hours, my fingers became completely blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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.