Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definitions: Numb |
NumbAdjective1. Lacking sensation; "my foot is asleep"; "numb with cold". 2. (followed by `to') not showing human feeling or sensitivity; unresponsive; "passersby were dead to our plea for help"; "numb to the cries for mercy". 3. So frightened as to be unable to move; stunned or paralyzed with terror; "petrified with fear"; "she was petrified by the eerie sound"; "too numb with fear to move". Verb1. Make numb or insensitive; "The shock numbed her senses". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "numb" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references) |
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| CA BAND NUMB | English | Number of frequency band that contains the cell allocation | Computing |
| CA BAND NUMB | Greek | αριθμός της ζώνης συχνοτήτων που περιέχει την εκχώρηση κυψέλης | Computing |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: NumbSynonyms: asleep(p) (adj), benumbed (adj), dead(p) (adj), numb(p) (adj), petrified (adj), benumb (v), blunt (v), dull (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Cold | Frozen, numb, frost-bitten. |
Insensibility | Render insensible, render callous; blunt, obtund, numb, benumb, paralyze, deaden, hebetate, stun, stupefy; brutify; brutalize; chloroform, anaesthetize, put under; assify. |
Numbness | Adjective: numb; benumbed. Verb: deadened; intangible, impalpable. |
Physical Insensibility | Adjective: insensible, unfeeling, senseless, impercipient, callous, thick-skinned, pachydermatous; hard, hardened; case hardened; proof, obtuse, dull; anaesthetic; comatose, paralytic, palsied, numb, dead. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Numb |
| English words defined with "numb": benumb, blunt ♦ daze, dead, deadened, dull ♦ Epithesis ♦ insensibly ♦ Numbed, numbly ♦ petrified ♦ Rigescent ♦ shock, stupor ♦ Toppescent, Torpify. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "numb": Mulligrubs ♦ Numps ♦ Toppescent, Torpent. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Yeah, my tongue was numb for a month. (Everybody Loves Raymond; writing credit: Joe Bolster) A great numb feeling washes over me as I let go of the past and look forward to the future. (The Rules of Attraction; writing credit: Roger Avary) I love snow so much, my fingers are numb with joy! (That '70s Show; writing credit: Stacia Raymond) Nothing hurts when you're numb. (Hooper; writing credit: Walt Green; Walter S. Herndon) | |
Lyrics | My toes too numb to step (Mr. Tambourine Man; performing artist: The Byrds; writing credit: Bob Dylan) I am numb (Brick; performing artist: Ben Folds Five) Where I've become so numb (Bring Me to Life; performing artist: EVANESCENCE) How do you numb your skin (Insensitive; performing artist: Jann Arden) I've been numb, I'm revived (Bitch; performing artist: Meredith Brooks) | |
Clever | She is numb from her toes down. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Numb (2003) Comfortably Numb (2003) U2: Numb (1993) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Mrs. Lloyd, ninety-one year old mother of Miss Nettie Lloyd, who is a pellagra victim. Mrs. Lloyd was born and reared in Orange County; has lived on this spot since her marriage sixty-nine years ago. It is on a new road leading off from left of Route numb.Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Clinton D. Duffy, warden of San Quentin, stands at a prisoner's bedside while Red Cross nurse Florence Aldrich prepares trhe young man for his donation. During the Red Cross mobile unit's visit, 150 men gave blood to the bank and more than twice that numb.Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Josh Billings | Threescore years and ten is enough; if a man can't suffer all the misery he wants in that time, he must be numb. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Towards the middle of the bridge, Cosette, her feet becoming numb, desired to walk. |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | He felt his numb face and nose. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Your hands or feet may swell or feel numb. You may get drowsy or have trouble concentrating. (references) | |
If your fingers are numb, be very careful when grasping objects that are sharp, hot, or otherwise dangerous. (references) | ||
Usually there is no pain, but it is common for the affected area to feel numb or prickly, as if it has fallen asleep. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Bob Costas | You need a structure. For example, fans--when people say fans just resent the size of players' contracts, I think that was true in past generations, but people are used to it now. They're numb to it or they accept it. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Numb" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 90.55% of the time. "Numb" is used about 275 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 90.55% | 249 | 18,850 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 4.73% | 13 | 97,576 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 4.73% | 13 | 97,576 |
| Total | 100.00% | 275 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "numb": be numb ♦ become numb ♦ become numb with cold ♦ go numb ♦ grow numb ♦ make numb ♦ my foot is numb ♦ numb hand. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "numb": numb-fish. | |
Ending with "numb": aesthetically-numb, earth-numb, stone-numb. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
numb toe | 88 | arm left numb | 9 |
numb finger | 88 | big toe numb | 9 |
numb | 86 | numb thumb | 9 |
numb foot | 64 | feel numb so | 9 |
numb hands | 56 | foot hands numb | 9 |
comfortably lyrics numb | 46 | hand numb | 8 |
comfortably numb | 43 | finger numb tip | 8 |
linkin lyrics numb park | 43 | comfortably numb tab | 8 |
numb tongue | 29 | numb nut | 8 |
lyrics numb | 26 | numb skin | 7 |
leg numb | 25 | numb u2 | 7 |
numb lip | 24 | numb chin | 6 |
comfortably floyd lyrics numb pink | 20 | numb penis | 6 |
linkin numb park | 18 | disturbed lyrics numb | 5 |
chin numb syndrome | 18 | chuck numb | 5 |
numb face | 17 | numb thigh | 5 |
fingertips numb | 14 | knee numb | 5 |
comfortably floyd numb pink | 13 | cause foot numb | 5 |
arm numb | 12 | hand left numb | 4 |
arms numb | 10 | finger little numb | 4 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "numb"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | shkaktoj mpirje, mpij (benumb, blunt, cramp, drowse, dull, stupefy), me këmba të mpirë, i shtangur nga frika, i ngrirë (congealed, dull, freezing, frost-bound, frosted, frozen, glace, glassy, lame, prim, starchy, stiff, stilted), i mpirë (asleep, benumbed, dead, inert, lame, muscle bound, obtuse, stale, torpid). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | فاقد الحس, مشلول (disabled, palsied, paralysed, paralytic, paralyzed), خدر (anaesthesia, anaesthetise, anaesthetize, anesthesia, anesthetize, benumb, creep, deaden, drug, look out, narcotize, numbness, opiate, stupefaction, stupefy, stupor, torpid, torpor), شل (benumb, cripple, paralyse, paralyze, stalemate, transfix, wither). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | сковавам (benumb, grip), вцепенявам (benumb, stupefy), вцепенен (stuporous, torpid), вкочанявам, вкочанен (benumbed). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 麻木 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | ztuhlý (hardened, stiff), ztratit cit, znecitlivìt (grow numb), zmrazit (congeal, freeze, ice), zkřehlý (benumbed), strnulý (constrained, fixed, rigid, stiff, torpid), strnout (freeze). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | کرخت (Insensitive, Soporific), کرخ (Numbing), بیحس یاکرخت کردن , بیحس (Callous, Impassive, Insensate, Insensible, Insensitive, Obtuse, Senseless, Unfeeling). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | turta (insensible), turruttaa (make numb, render insensible), kohmettunut, kankea (rigid, stiff, wooden), hervoton (flaccid, inert, limp). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | engourdir. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | starr (fixed, fossilized, glassy, inelastic, inflexible, intransigent, paralyzed, petrified, procrustean, rigid, rigidly, set, stiff, torpid, torpidly, unblinking). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | μουδιάζω (benumb, chill, to numb). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | ל'רום לאוב"ן תחוש", חסר תחוש" (insensate, torpid). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | zsibbadt (benumbed, numbed, torpid), dermedt (congealed, frozen, numbed, paralysed, stiff), bódult (dazed, numbed, stupefied). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indonesian | mati rasa, kaku (awkward, curt, gauche, rigid, stark, stiff). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | tramortito, istupidire (befuddle, daze, make stupid, stupefy), intorpidito, intorpidire (benumb, dull, grow numb, stupefy), intontito (dazed, groggy, muzzy, stunned), intirizzito, intirizzire (benumb, grow numb, grow stiff, make stiff). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 無感覚 (impervious). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | むか"かく (impervious). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 마비되". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | stioyrey (numbing), magganeagh (cramped, numbing, torpid), lhejaghey, lhejagh (congealable, hardening, setting, shivery, trembling), kyrloghey (anaesthetization, anaesthetize, anaesthetize locally, benumb, benumbing, deaden, paralyse, stun), kyrloghe (benumb, cramped, insensible, sleeping, torpid). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | umbnay tolhido, talento (ability, accomplishments, acquirements, aptitude, disposition, dower, endowment, genius, ingenuity, part, spirit, talent, wit), paralisado (stagnant), estarrecido, entorpecido (rusty, slumberous, stupid, torpid), dormente (dormant, railway sleeper, shelf, sleeper, tie, torpid), adormecido (asleep, sleeper, sleeping, slumberous, torpid). (various references) indiferent (all one, all the same, anywhere, apathetic, apathetical, careless, chill, cool, dull, impassive, indifferent, indifferently, inhuman, insensible, insensitive, lackadaisical, languid, listless, nonchalant, perfunctory, phlegmatic, pococurante, reckless, remiss, slack, slow, sluggish, stolid, unconcerned, unimportant, unmoved), amorţit (asleep, benumbed, dead, torpid), amorţi (benumb, dull, sleep, stiffen, stupefy). (various references) вызывать онемение, окоченелый, онемелый (torpid), закоченелый. (various references) utrnuti (grow numb), utrnuo (benumbed), ukočen (prim, stiff, stodgy, torpid). (various references) entumecido (insensitive, stiff). (various references) stel (fixed, formal, frigid, hard, prim, rigid, set, starchy, stark, stiff, torpid, wooden), avdomnad. (various references) ชา (asleep, cha, Rosie Lee, tea), ทำให้ชา (dull). (various references) uyuşuk (asleep, benumbed, bonelazy, bovine, dormant, drowsy, happy, indolent, inert, lackadaisical, lazy, lethargic, lethargical, poky, quiescent, slack, slacker, sleepy, slothful, slouching, slouchy, soggy, stick in the mud, supine, torpid), uyuşturmak (anaesthetize, benumb, drug, dull, lull, narcotize, stupefy), uyuşmuş (asleep, benumbed, dopey, torpid, under the influence of drugs), hissizleştirmek (benumb, de-emotionalize), hissiz (apathetic, apathetical, benumbed, bloodless, callous, crass, cruel, devoid of feelings, dispassionate, down to earth, impassible, impassive, indifferent, insensate, insensible, insensitive, insentient, insusceptible, senseless, soulless, torpid), duygusuzlaştırmak (deaden, harden, indurate), duygusuz (apathetic, apathetical, as cold as charity, bloodless, blunt, callous, coldhearted, conscience-proof, devoid of feelings, dull, frigid, hard-hearted, impassible, insensate, insensitive, marble, matter of fact, obtuse, phlegmatic, phlegmatical, senseless, soulless, steel, stolid, stony, unemotional, unfeeling, unmoved), dondurmak (chill, congeal, deep freeze, freeze, ice, nip, refrigerate), donakalmış (aghast, frozen, struck dumb). (various references) sцmelmek (be dumb-founded). (various references) викликати оніміння, викликати одубілість, викликати закляклість, отерплий, ошелешити, онімілий (asleep, torpid), зомлілий, заціпенілий (cataleptic, stupid), затерплий, закляклий (cataleptic, stark, stiff), задубілий (benumbed, petrified), приголомшити (transfix, wow), примусити заціпеніти. (various references) tê (irksome), lóng ngóng (butter-fingered, ham-fisted, ham-handed). (various references) merwino (benumb, smart, tingle), diffrwyth (barren, paralyzed), crepach (numbness). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | abalienabantur, abalienabit, abalienarentur, abalienati, abalienavit, torpeo. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | niman. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "numb": numbat, numbats, numbed, number, numberable, numbered, numberer, numberers, numbering, numberless, numbers, numbest, numbfish, numbfishes, numbing, numbingly, numbles, numbly, numbness, numbnesses, numbs, numbskull, numbskulls. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "numb": benumb. (additional references) | |
Words containing "numb": benumbed, benumbing, benumbs, outnumber, outnumbered, outnumbering, outnumbers, penumbra, penumbrae, penumbral, penumbras, prenumber, prenumbered, prenumbering, prenumbers, renumber, renumbered, renumbering, renumbers, unnumbered. (additional references) | |
| |
"Numb" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: gnomb, Namba, namby, namh, Namib, Naum, Nemba, Netmbx, Neum, Ngum, Ngumba, Ngumbe, Ngumu, nimb, nimh, nimr, Nkuebe, nomb, nomy, nuba, nuby, nueb, numbe, numbr, nume, numo, Nums, numv, numx, nung, nurb, Nvumba, nymby, nymr, Nyum, sumb, umb. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "numb" (pronounced nu"m) |
| 2 | -u" m | become, bum, chum, come, crumb, cum, drum, dumb, from, glum, grum, gum, hum, Lum, mum, Mumm, plum, Plumb, rum, scum, slum, some, strum, Stum, succumb, sum, swum, thumb, um, umm, yum. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-m-n-u" | |
-1 letter: bum, bun, mun, nub. | |
-2 letters: mu, nu, um, un. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-m-n-u" | |
+1 letter: numbs. | |
+2 letters: benumb, bumkin, bunkum, busman, busmen, nimbus, numbat, numbed, number, numbly. | |
+3 letters: albumen, albumin, benumbs, bitumen, bluming, bumkins, bumming, bumping, bumpkin, bunkums, bushman, bushmen, clubman, clubmen, dubnium, dumbing, imbuing, minibus, nelumbo, niobium, numbats, numbers, numbest, numbing, numbles, omnibus, submenu, sunbeam, umbonal, umbones, umbonic, unbosom. | |
+4 letters: abutment, albumens, albumins, alburnum, ambulant, bemusing, benumbed, biennium, bimanous, bimanual, bitumens, bluesman, bluesmen, brunizem, bumbling, bumpkins, buncombe, bunkmate, crumbing, dubniums, dumbcane, dumbness, embruing, encumber, fumbling, galbanum, humbling, imbruing, incumber, jumbling, labdanum, laburnum, manubria, misbegun, misbound, moribund, mumbling, nelumbos, nimbused, nimbuses, niobiums, nobelium, numbered, numberer, numbfish, numbness, olibanum, penumbra, plumbing, rambutan, renumber, rumbaing, rumbling, subhuman, submenus, sunbeams, sunbeamy, thumbing, thumbkin, thumbnut, tumbling, umbering, umbonate, unblamed, unbosoms, uncombed, unimbued, unlimber, urbanism, viburnum. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)4E 75 6D 62 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-. ..- -- -... |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01001110 01110101 01101101 01100010 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)N u m b |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)004E 0075 006D 0062 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)48877968 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Spoken 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Abbreviations | 17. Acronyms 18. Derivations 19. Rhymes 20. Anagrams | 21. Orthography 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
