numb
numb
(nʌm )Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense numbs , present participle numbing , past tense, past participle numbed
1. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If a part of your body is numb, you cannot feel anything there.
He could feel his fingers growing numb at their tips.
My legs felt numb and my toes ached.
numbness uncountable noun
I have recently been suffering from pain and numbness in my hands. [+ in]
2. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you are numb with shock, fear, or grief, you are so shocked, frightened, or upset that you cannot think clearly or feel any emotion.
The mother, numb with grief, has trouble speaking. [+ with]
I was so shocked I went numb.
numbness uncountable noun [oft adjective NOUN]
Many men become more aware of emotional numbness in their 40s.
numbly (nʌmli ) adverb [ADVERB with verb]
He walked numbly into the cemetery.
3. verb
For a while the shock of Philippe's letter numbed her. [VERB noun]
The horror of my experience has numbed my senses. [VERB noun]
numbed adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
I'm so numbed with shock that I can hardly think.
...the sort of numbed hush which usually follows an automobile accident.
4.
See also mind-numbing
