benumb
Dull all feeling
To benumb is to make numb—to deprive of sensation or feeling.
Cold benumbs the fingers; shock benumbs the mind.
The word appears more often in its past participle: benumbed by grief, fingers benumbed by the frost.
It carries a slightly literary or old-fashioned quality compared to simply *numb*.
Become solid from cold
- chillCold sensation or relaxation
- paralyzeCause loss of movement
- deadenDiminish force or sensation
- anesthetizeRender insensible to pain
immobilize · frostbite · hypothermia · torpor · stiff · frozen · icy · cold
Reduce responsiveness over time
- bluntDull or tactlessly direct
- dullLacking edge or interest
- hardenMake or become firm
- callousCruelly insensitive to others
detach · deaden · apathy · unfeeling · insensate · emotionless · impassive · indurate
Lacking edge or interest
- stupefyOverwhelm with astonishment
- fogLow-lying cloud cover
- torpidInactive and slow
- lethargicLacking energy or alertness
sluggish · stupor · drowsy · groggy · hazy · dim · sedate · dopey
Daze by force
- stupefyOverwhelm with astonishment
- dazeBewildered mental state
- overwhelmDefeat by excess
- paralyzeCause loss of movement
petrify · stupor · shellshock · traumatize · jolt · bewilder · dumbfound · incapacitate
freeze
Become solid from cold
anesthetize · immobilize · frostbite · hypothermia · torpor · stiff · frozen · icy · cold · frigid
desensitize
Reduce responsiveness over time
callous · detach · deaden · apathy · unfeeling · insensate · emotionless · impassive · indurate · thick-skinned
dull
Lacking edge or interest
lethargic · sluggish · stupor · drowsy · groggy · hazy · dim · sedate · dopey · muddle
stun
Daze by force
paralyze · petrify · stupor · shellshock · traumatize · jolt · bewilder · dumbfound · incapacitate · freeze