"deadening" in the noun sense

1. stultification, constipation, impairment, deadening

the act of making something futile and useless (as by routine)

"deadening" in the verb sense

1. dampen, deaden, damp

make vague or obscure or make (an image) less visible

"muffle the message"

2. girdle, deaden

cut a girdle around so as to kill by interrupting the circulation of water and nutrients

"girdle the plant"

3. deaden

make vapid or deprive of spirit

"deadened wine"

4. deaden

lessen the momentum or velocity of

"deaden a ship's headway"

5. deaden

become lifeless, less lively, intense, or active lose life, force, or vigor

6. deaden, blunt

make less lively, intense, or vigorous impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation

"Terror blunted her feelings"

"deaden a sound"

7. deaden

convert (metallic mercury) into a grey powder consisting of minute globules, as by shaking with chalk or fatty oil

"deadening" in the adjective sense

1. boring, deadening, dull, ho-hum, irksome, slow, tedious, tiresome, wearisome

so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness

"a boring evening with uninteresting people"

"the deadening effect of some routine tasks"

"a dull play"

"his competent but dull performance"

"a ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention"

"what an irksome task the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke

"tedious days on the train"

"the tiresome chirping of a cricket"- Mark Twain

"other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome"

Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)

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