Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use numb in a sentence

34 example sentences · adjective, verb

Numb means physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation. Example: “The dentist gave me novocaine to numb my tooth before drilling, thank goodness.”

Examples of numb by meaning

adjectivePhysically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.

  • fingers numb with cold
  • legs numb from kneeling

adjectiveEmotionally unable to feel or respond in a normal way.

  • numb with shock; numb with boredom
  • I’d been too dazed, too numb, to feel the full viciousness of it.1966, Truman Capote, In Cold Blood, New York: Modern Library, published 1992, Part One, p. 77

verbTo cause to become numb (physically or emotionally).

  • The dentist gave me novocaine to numb my tooth before drilling, thank goodness.
  • When I first heard the news, I was numbed by the shock.
  • 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

verbTo cause (a feeling) to be less intense.

  • He turned to alcohol to numb his pain.

verbTo cause (the mind, faculties, etc.) to be less acute.

  • 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

verbTo become numb (especially physically).

  • 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

More sentences with numb

  • The images we see day after day numb us.From the entry day after day
  • Eventually, you become numb to the situation and simply give up.2025 March 24, Sofia Lodato, quoting Olivia Verhulst, “Have You Given Up Trying? This Is Why, According to a Therapist”, in Oprah Daily. From the entry learned helplessness
  • Asphyxiating arches catch the breath And numb the senses of all who sought the lost prize.2024, Nishant Gang, It Happens: Navigating Life's Unpredictable Journey, page 25. From the entry asphyxiating
  • Collins English Dictionary defines obtundity as the state of "having the senses numbed or less sharp."2024 January 17, Andrew Barton, “'Obtundity' signs bewilder York residents and visitors”, in BBC News. From the entry obtundity
  • Do your lethal addictions to self-prescriptions numb the ache of the darkest days?2019, “Chemical Christ”, in Human Target (Deathcore), performed by Thy Art is Murder. From the entry addiction
  • Yet, numbed by the anesthesia of the kiss, I no longer feel any pain.2008, Hayashi Naotaka, “Prologue”, in Chaos;Head. From the entry boring
  • And I, all alone, east of the aisle up frontish, applauded, amid the numb and blind.1963, Ken Kelman, “Smith Myth”, in P. Adams Sitney, editor, Film Culture Reader (Praeger Film Books), New York, N.Y.; Washington, D.C.…. From the entry frontish
  • This meant I would be numbed from the waist down to allow for the serious abdominal surgery to take place.2024 October 23, Andrea Byrne, Desperate Rants and Magic Pants, Y Lolfa, →ISBN. From the entry through the sunroof
  • I feel numb when we step into our apartment.2022 November 26, Virginia Feito, “Sweating Through a Honeymoon in Paradise”, in The New York Times. From the entry semicatatonic
  • I'm numb to the feelin' of grievin'.2021 July 23, “Heart Attack” (track 11), in We're All Alone In This Together, performed by Dave. From the entry deep
  • Wear the same outfit day after day, your brain gets numb to how it looks or feels—Wendy shut the album.2018, Casey Plett, edited by Susan Safyan, Little Fish, Vancouver, B.C.: Arsenal Pulp Press, →ISBN, page 24. From the entry egg
  • If you yabble too much Your rear'll be numb!2008, Len Bailey, Fantasms. From the entry yabble
  • Jim stared down at him, numb with horror.2005 August 2, C. J. Cherryh, The Deep Beyond, Penguin, →ISBN. From the entry sight
  • Of course, different people numb out in different ways.1991 December 8, Liz Galst, “Gay Male Incest Survivors, Safer Sex, and AIDS”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 21, page 9. From the entry numb out
  • Inevitably, a jury numbed by a succession of slides premiates some designs because they are "interesting" or "different."1990, Landscape Architecture, volume 80, page 170. From the entry premiate
  • Then his numbed senses gathered the import of the advice.1908 January 24, “Pearce Battles Blizzard and Makes Hamilton-Toronto Run […]”, in The Toronto Daily Star, 16th year, Toronto, Ont., →ISSN…. From the entry uncomprehendedly
  • His hands were so cold they were numb.1901, Bradley Gabriella, Mice and Spice, page 28. From the entry white stuff
  • The trouble is, in this account of a gambler seeking shelter from the storm in the numbness of cardplay, the prose is similarly, symptomatically numb.2011, Richard Gray, A History of American Literature. From the entry cardplay
  • He seeks to widen them somehow, by doing something else, something tactile, nonanesthetic, something to get adrenaline moving in his numbed veins.2007 February 18, Lawrence Downes, “Running Into Fences”, in New York Times. From the entry nonanesthetic
  • The predrinks are done as the off sales prices are reasonable whereas bar prices caused me to nearly faint but arriving drunk numbs that effect.2007 August 4, Cerumen, “Harry Potter and the Monumental Cock-up”, in uk.rec.sheds (Usenet). From the entry predrinks
  • They may be pain-free but their body is constipated, their brain is numbed and they often don't have the ability to speak cogently before they die.2023, David Nutt, Psychedelics, page 186. From the entry constipated
  • Do you want to continue to live in the false world of dieting, where emotional pain is numbed, health risks are ignored, and false promises are made?2011, Stephen Arterburn, Linda Mintle, Lose It for Life: The Total Solution, →ISBN, page 49. From the entry red pill
  • I don't mind saying 'u' instead of 'you' so much, mostly because I've become numb to it, and some people do it because it's 'cool' to speak chatspeak.2004, “Hello, All (who ever that is)”, in Smite the illiterate. From the entry chatspeak
  • She tried to grab some branches of brush and pull her face forward into their wet rootiness, but the tongs grabbed her until she was numb, and she lolled over.1986, Lella Warren, Foundation Stone, page 296. From the entry rootiness

Meaning of numb

  1. adjective Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.
  2. adjective Emotionally unable to feel or respond in a normal way.
  3. adjective Dumb or stupid.

Full definition of numb

Questions about numb in a sentence

How do you use numb in a sentence?
Numb is used as an adjective and verb. For example: “The dentist gave me novocaine to numb my tooth before drilling, thank goodness.”
What is a short sentence with numb?
“fingers numb with cold”
What does numb mean?
Numb means physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: numb (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use numb in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/numb. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.