Deafens

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Produces a loud noise or sound that causes someone to lose or reduce their hearing temporarily or permanently
2. Creates an intense auditory effect that results in a person being unable to hear normally for a period
3. Generates sound so powerful or harsh that it disrupts or diminishes a person's ability to perceive sounds

Etymology: "Deafens" is the third-person singular form of "deafen," so the story belongs to the verb itself. The verb is built from the adjective "deaf" plus the suffix "-en," which turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make something of that quality." To deafen is therefore literally to make someone deaf, and the suffix is a plain, productive one that also appears in words like "widen" and "soften." The verb has deep roots in Old English. "Ādēafian," meaning "to deafen," was in use before the Norman Conquest, and it had relatives in other Germanic languages, including Dutch "verdoven," which means "to stupefy or deafen," and German "betäuben," which carries a similar range of "to stun, stupefy, deafen." The overlap is revealing: in these languages the sense of dulling or stunning sits alongside the sense of losing hearing, and English kept the aural meaning as its core.

Synonyms: drowns out, muffles, silences

Antonyms: amplifies, clarifies, enhances