NUMB | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of numb in English numbadjective uk /nʌm/ us /nʌm/ Add to word list Add to word list If a part of your body is numb, you are unable to feel it, usually for a short time: I was lying in a weird position and my leg went numb. My fingers were numb with cold. not able to feel any emotions or to think clearly, because you are so shocked or frightened, etc.: When she first heard the news, she was numb with disbelief. Ever since his girlfriend left him he has felt numb. Unable to feel anything
  • anaesthesia
  • asleep
  • benumbed
  • dead
  • numbingly
  • numbly
  • numbness

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Not showing or feeling emotions numbverb [ T ] uk /nʌm/ us /nʌm/ to make something or someone feel numb: The extreme cold numbed her face and hands. The children are still numbed by their father's death. Synonyms blunt dull Unable to feel anything
  • anaesthesia
  • asleep
  • benumbed
  • dead
  • numbingly
  • numbly
  • numbness

Related word

numbly (Definition of numb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

numb | American Dictionary

numbadjective [ -er/-est only ] us /nʌm/ Add to word list Add to word list (of a part of the body) unable to feel anything: My fingers are so cold, they’re numb. If you are numb with a strong emotion, you are not able to feel anything else or to think clearly: At the sound of breaking glass, she went numb with fear.

numbness

noun [ U ] us /ˈnʌm·nəs/
(Definition of numb from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of numb

numb Throughout the world we have constant conferences, international squabbles and local wars, and these things have numbed our senses. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 The minds of many of these young offenders appear to have been numbed by greed and indifference to violence. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 We are to some extent being numbed into insensibility on the dollar question. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 One can easily be numbed by the numbers of refugees. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 Cutting has already operated on over 500 casualties and admits to being numbed by the scale of human tragedy. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 We could so easily become anaesthetised and numbed so that we are unconscious of the dangers of acceptance on a long-term basis of these inroads into our civil liberties. From the Hansard archive Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0 The avatar persona experiences an experience similar to an escape from reality like drug or alcohol usage for numbing pain or hiding behind it. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. She is also numbed from emotion, pain and empathy, impervious to cold, and resistant to heat in this form. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. They do not -- and the format's stasis is numbing. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Dissociating from the painful emotion includes numbing all emotion, and the person may seem emotionally flat, preoccupied, distant, or cold. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. The result is numbing as he first loses his aggressiveness and personality. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. The mayor is elected every two years during even number years. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. However, it is not clear if this is pluractionality or simply number agreement on the verb. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Their so-called religion acts merely as an opiate: irritating, numbing, calming their pain out of weakness. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. His field of research was initially number theory, but he worked mainly in combinatorics and coding theory. From Wikipedia This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. See all examples of numb These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of numb?

Translations of numb

in Chinese (Traditional) (身體部位)麻木的,失去感覺的, (由於過度震驚或恐懼而)麻木的,思維遲鈍的, 使麻木,使失去感覺… See more in Chinese (Simplified) (身体部位)麻木的,失去感觉的, (由于过度震惊或恐惧而)麻木的,思维迟钝的, 使麻木,使失去感觉… See more in Spanish entumecido, insensible, entumecido/ida [masculine-feminine… See more in Portuguese dormente, entorpecido/-da… See more in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Korean in Ukrainian in Italian 感覚が麻痺した, 感覚(かんかく)のない, 感情(かんじょう)のない… See more uyuşmuş, hissizleşmiş, sersemlemiş… See more engourdi/-ie, hébété/-ée, engourdi… See more entumit, insensible… See more verstijfd, verstijven… See more ochromený, zkřehlý, ochromit… See more følelsesløs, gøre følelsesløs… See more kebas, mengebaskan… See more ชา, ทำให้ชา… See more tê cóng, chết lặng, làm tê cóng… See more zdrętwiały, nieprzytomny, ścierpnięty… See more domnad, stel, få att domna (stelna)… See more kebas, mengebaskan… See more taub, taub machen… See more nummen, følelsesløs, helt tom… See more 무감각한… See more заціпенілий, онімілий, спричинити оніміння… See more intirizzito, insensibile, intorpidito… See more Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool

Browse

nullify nullifying nulliparous nullity numb numbat numbed number number cruncher {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

Word of the Day

goal

UK /ɡəʊl/ US /ɡoʊl/

to be the player who tries to prevent the other team from scoring goals

About this

Blog

Talking about death (Part 1)

December 31, 2026 Read More

New Words

frost-jacking December 29, 2026 More new words has been added to list To top AI icon AI Assistant Contents EnglishAmericanExamplesTranslations AI icon AI Assistant {{#displayLoginPopup}} Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content: Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans Sign up now or Log in Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Learn more with +Plus

Create word lists and quizzes for free Sign up now or Log in {{/displayLoginPopup}} {{#displayClassicSurvey}} {{/displayClassicSurvey}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
AI Assistant Dictionary Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English Translations Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English English–Danish Danish–English English–Dutch Dutch–English English–French French–English English–German German–English English–Indonesian Indonesian–English English–Italian Italian–English English–Japanese Japanese–English English–Norwegian Norwegian–English English–Polish Polish–English English–Portuguese Portuguese–English English–Spanish Spanish–English English–Swedish Swedish–English Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese Translate Grammar Thesaurus Pronunciation Cambridge Dictionary +Plus Games {{userName}}
  • Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
  • My profile
  • +Plus help
  • Log out
Log in / Sign up English (UK) Change English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Follow us Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended {{#preferredDictionaries}} {{name}} {{/preferredDictionaries}}
  • Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation British and American pronunciations with audio English Pronunciation
  • Translation Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Danish Danish–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus Word Lists
Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents
  • English   AdjectiveVerb
  • American   
    • Adjective 
      • numb
    • Noun 
      • numbness
  • Examples
  • Translations
  • Grammar
  • All translations
My word lists

To add numb to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in My word lists

Add numb to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

{{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{name}} More Go to your word lists {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

Something went wrong.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} Tell us about this example sentence: The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}} The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit Thanks! Your feedback will be reviewed. {{#verifyErrors}}

{{message}}

{{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{#message}}

{{message}}

{{/message}} {{^message}}

There was a problem sending your report.

{{/message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

Tag » How Do You Spell Numb