deafen

From deaf +‎ -en (verbal suffix). Compare Middle English deven, deaven (“to make deaf”), Old English ādēafian (“to deafen”), Dutch verdoven (“to stupefy, deafen”), German betäuben (“to stun, stupefy, deafen”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛfən/
• Rhymes: -ɛfən

deafen (third-person singular simple present deafens, present participle deafening, simple past and past participle deafened)

1. (transitive) To make deaf, either temporarily or permanently.
2. (transitive) To make soundproof.

   to deafen a wall or a floor

3. (transitive, rare, dialectal, sometimes figuratively) To stun, as with noise.
   • 1855, Macaulay

     Racine left the ground […] deafened, dazzled and tired to death.