[nuhm] 
adjective -er, -est, verb | 1. | deprived of physical sensation or the ability to move: fingers numb with cold. |
| 2. | manifesting or resembling numbness: a numb sensation. |
| 3. | incapable of action or of feeling emotion; enervated; prostrate: numb with grief. |
| 4. | lacking or deficient in emotion or feeling; indifferent: She was numb to their pleas for mercy. |
| 5. | to make numb. |
| numb (nŭm) adj. numb·er, numb·est
To make or become numb. [Middle English nome, variant of nomin, past participle of nimen, to seize, from Old English niman; see nem- in Indo-European roots.] numb'ly adv., numb'ness n. Word History: Old English had a number of strong verbs (often loosely called "irregular" verbs) that did not survive into Modern English. One such was the verb niman, "to take," later replaced by take, a borrowing from Old Norse. The verb had a past tense nam and a past participle numen; if the verb had survived, it would likely have become nim, nam, num, like swim, swam, swum. Although we do not have the verb as such anymore, its past participle is alive and well, now spelled numb, literally "taken, seized," as by cold or grief. (The older spelling without the b is still seen in the compound numskull.) The verb also lives on indirectly in the word nimble, which used to mean "quick to take," and then later "light, quick on one's feet." |
numb (nŭm)
adj.
Being unable or only partially able to feel sensation or pain; deadened or anesthetized.
Being emotionally unresponsive; indifferent.