deafen

D2E1A1F4E1N1
/ˈdɛfən/

verb

To make deaf, either temporarily or permanently.

“to deafen a wall or a floor”

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deaf
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Meanings

verbdeafen (third-person singular simple present deafens, present participle deafening, simple past and past participle deafened)

present singular third person deafens · participle present deafening · participle past deafened · past deafened

  1. transitiveTo make deaf, either temporarily or permanently.

    The head injury deafened her for life.

  2. transitiveTo make soundproof.

    to deafen a wall or a floor

  3. dialectalfigurativelyraresometimestransitiveTo stun, as with noise.

    Racine left the ground […] deafened, dazzled and tired to death.

    1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC

Synonyms & antonyms

verbmake or render deaf

Similar
deaf
Broader
desensitizedesensitise
Also see
deaf

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From deaf + -en (verbal suffix). Compare Middle English deven, deaven (“to make deaf”), Old English ādēafian (“to deafen”) and Old English ādȳfan, Dutch verdoven (“to stupefy, deafen”), German betäuben (“to stun, stupefy, deafen”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic أَصَمَّ
  • أَصَمَّ (ʔaṣamma)to make deaf
Bulgarian оглуша́вам, оглуша́
  • оглуша́вам (oglušávam)to make deaf
  • оглуша́ (oglušá)to make deaf
  • заглуша́вам (zaglušávam)to make soundproof
  • заглуша́ (zaglušá)to make soundproof
  • пра́вя звуконепроница́ем (právja zvukonepronicáem)to make soundproof
Catalan ensordir
  • ensordirto make deaf
Dutch verdoven, doof maken
  • verdovento make deaf
  • doof makento make deaf
  • geluiddicht makento make soundproof
Finnish kuurouttaa, äänieristää
  • kuurouttaato make deaf
  • äänieristääto make soundproof
French assourdir, rendre sourd
  • assourdirto make deaf
  • rendre sourdto make deaf
German taub machen
  • taub machento make deaf
Greek κουφαίνω
  • κουφαίνω (koufaíno)to make deaf
Hungarian megsüketít
  • megsüketítto make deaf
Indonesian menulikan
  • menulikanto make deaf
Irish bodhraigh
  • bodhraighto make deaf
Japanese 聾する
  • 聾する (rōsuru)to make deaf
Korean 귀를 먹먹하게 하다
  • 귀를 먹먹하게 하다 (gwi-reul meongmeokhage hada)to make deaf
Polish ogłuszać, ogłuszyć
  • ogłuszaćto make deaf
  • ogłuszyćto make deaf
Portuguese ensurdecer
  • ensurdecerto make deaf
Romanian asurzi
  • asurzito make deaf
Russian оглуша́ть, глуши́ть
  • оглуша́ть (oglušátʹ)to make deaf
  • глуши́ть (glušítʹ)to make deaf
  • оглуши́ть (oglušítʹ)to make deaf
  • заглуши́ть (zaglušítʹ)to make soundproof
  • приглуши́ть (priglušítʹ)to make soundproof
Spanish ensordecer
  • ensordecerto make deaf
Ukrainian оглуша́ти, глуши́ти
  • оглуша́ти (ohlušáty)to make deaf
  • глуши́ти (hlušýty)to make deaf
  • оглу́шувати (ohlúšuvaty)to make deaf
  • оглуши́ти (ohlušýty)to make deaf

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with deafen

Stephen
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

deafen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deafen

MLA

“deafen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deafen. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deafen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deafen.

Source: deafen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.