deafening

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈdɛfənɪŋ/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    So loud as to make it impossible to hear anything else; extremely noisy.; Overwhelmingly intense or striking, as if overwhelming the senses.
  2. verb
    Present participle of deafen; making someone unable to hear, either temporarily or permanently.
  3. noun
    The act or process of making deaf; the state of being made deaf.

🔗 Details

Word forms

3rd sing.: deafens Past: deafened Past part.: deafened Pres part.: deafening

Collocations

deafening silencedeafening noisedeafening roardeafening sounddeafening blastdeafening applause

Derivatives

deafdeafnessdeafeninglydeafened

Synonyms

ear-splittingear-piercingthunderousblaringboomingear-splitting

Antonyms

quietsilentfaintsoft

Commonly confused

deaf
EN: 'Deaf' describes a person unable to hear; 'deafening' describes a sound so loud it could cause deafness.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember that 'deafening' derives from the verb 'deafen' (deaf + en), so it retains the '-en-' before '-ing'. Do not write 'deafing'.

💬 Examples

  1. The deafening roar of the jet engines made conversation impossible.

  2. There was a deafening silence after the announcement.

  3. The explosion was deafening everyone within a hundred meters.

  4. Prolonged exposure to loud machinery can result in the deafening of workers over time.