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