verb · informal
deafen
/ˈdef.ən/DEF·en
Band 6-7speakingtask2
to make someone unable to hear, usually temporarily, by producing a very loud noise
Examples
“The roar of the jets deafened the crowd at the air show.”
“That music almost deafened me; it was so loud.”
“Construction noise deafened nearby residents for hours.”
Band 8 sentence
“The factory's vibrations and constant machinery noise would eventually deafen workers if proper ear protection were not enforced.”
Collocations
- deafen someone with noise
- deafening roar/sound/noise
- nearly deafened
Word family
deafen verb (base)deafens verb (3rd sing.)deafened verb (past/p.p.)deafening adj / verb (gerund)deaf adj / noun
Common mistakes
The noise was deafening me.→The noise deafened me.
That song was deafen.→That song was deafening.
Say it for a higher band
5make deaf→6deafening→7+deafen
Synonyms
muddle (rare)
stun (in sound context)
Easily confused
deafening
“The crowd heard a deafening explosion.”
stun
“The news stunned everyone in the room.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -en
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