deafening C2+ Topic:Senses & Perception US /ˈdɛfənɪŋ/ UK /ˈdefənɪŋ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj extremely loud The crowd erupted into deafening applause. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · extremely loud thunderousear-splittingboomingroaringresoundingpiercingoverpowering ↔ Opposites quietfaintmuffledinaudiblesoft Word family Derived forms deafeningly Related forms deafendeaf Etymology AI details Present participle of deafen ('to make deaf'), from deaf (Old English dēaf) plus -en. The base descends from Proto-Germanic *daubaz ('dull, deaf'). dēaf Old English *daubaz Proto-Germanic View etymology graph -> Topics Senses & Perception Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # deafening **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈdɛfənɪŋ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈdefənɪŋ/ ## Meanings 1. extremely loud ## Examples - The crowd erupted into deafening applause. ## Synonyms - thunderous - ear-splitting - booming - roaring - resounding - piercing - overpowering ## Antonyms - quiet - faint - muffled - inaudible - soft ## Derived Forms - deafeningly ## Related Forms - deafen - deaf ## Roots and Affixes - Root: dēaf - Root: *daubaz ## Etymology Present participle of deafen ('to make deaf'), from deaf (Old English dēaf) plus -en. The base descends from Proto-Germanic *daubaz ('dull, deaf'). ## AI Etymology Deafening is the present participle of deafen ('to make deaf'), from deaf (Old English dēaf) plus -en. The base descends from Proto-Germanic *daubaz ('dull, deaf'). The ancestry passes through Old English dēaf and Proto-Germanic *daubaz. In present use as an adjective, it means "extremely loud", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include deafen and deaf; derived forms include deafeningly. Its contrast set includes quiet, faint, muffled, and inaudible, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word. ## Topics - Senses & Perception - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown