numb

[nuhm] adjective, numb·er, numb·est, verb
adjective
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.
verb (used with object)
5.
to make numb.
00:10
Numbness is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English nome literally, taken, seized, variant of nomen, numen, Old English numen, past participle of niman to take, nim1

numb·ly, adverb
numb·ness, noun
half-numb, adjective
un·numbed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
numb (nʌm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  deprived of feeling through cold, shock, etc
2.  unable to move; paralysed
3.  characteristic of or resembling numbness: a numb sensation
 
vb
4.  to make numb; deaden, shock, or paralyse
 
[C15: nomen, literally: taken (with paralysis), from Old English niman to take; related to Old Norse nema, Old High German niman]
 
'numbly
 
adv
 
'numbness
 
n

numb (nʌm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  deprived of feeling through cold, shock, etc
2.  unable to move; paralysed
3.  characteristic of or resembling numbness: a numb sensation
 
vb
4.  to make numb; deaden, shock, or paralyse
 
[C15: nomen, literally: taken (with paralysis), from Old English niman to take; related to Old Norse nema, Old High German niman]
 
'numbly
 
adv
 
'numbness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

numb
mid-15c., nome, lit. "taken, seized," from pp. of nimen "to take, seize," from O.E. niman "to take" (see nimble). The extraneous -b (to conform to comb, limb, etc.) appeared 17c. The notion is of being "taken" with palsy, shock, and especially cold. The verb is from c.1600.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

numb (nŭm)
adj.

  1. Being unable or only partially able to feel sensation or pain; deadened or anesthetized.

  2. Being emotionally unresponsive; indifferent.

v. numbed, numb·ing, numbs
To make or become numb.
numb'ness n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
Some numbness is common afterward, but it rarely bothers patients.
As the voltage increased, the stimulation had caused numbness in her mouth and
  throat, with obvious effects on her speech.
Symptoms include neck pain, arm weakness and numbness extending along the inner
  forearm into the medial two fingers.
Numbness or pain in the other limbs and sluggish digestion are also common.
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