numbs

Verb

numb (third-person singular simple present numbs, present participle numbing, simple past and past participle numbed)

1. (transitive) To cause to become numb (physically or emotionally).
   • The dentist gave me novocaine to numb my tooth before drilling, thank goodness.

   Synonyms:

   benumb

2. (transitive) To cause (a feeling) to be less intense.
   • He turned to alcohol to numb his pain.

   Synonyms:

   dull

3. (transitive) To cause (the mind, faculties, etc.) to be less acute.
   • […] 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

   Synonyms:

   dull

4. (intransitive) To become numb (especially physically).
   • […] 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

See all 8 meanings of numb