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# deafening

adjective (deafening, more deafening)

«deafening» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A deafening noise is extremely loud, so loud you can hardly hear anything else. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#m1)
2. (idiom) A deafening silence is a silence that is very noticeable, for example when people refuse to answer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories, deafening noises are thunder, cheering crowds, explosions or music: they tell the reader the sound is overwhelming. In science and health, very loud sounds (measured in decibels) can damage hearing — use ear defenders. Phrases: «a deafening roar», «deafening applause», «deafening silence».

### Examples

- The thunder was deafening. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#x1)
- The crowd's cheer was deafening when we scored. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#x2)
- The music at the concert was deafening, so we wore earplugs. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#x3)
- After the teacher's question there was a deafening silence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#x4)
- The fire alarm made a deafening ring. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#x5)
- A jet engine is deafening up close. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#x6)
- He, however, convinced them that there was no pig there, and then the applause was deafening. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/#x7)

### Note

Adjective from the verb deafen (to make deaf). Use it for sounds, not for people. A deafening silence is a figure of speech: the silence itself is not loud.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «deafening» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/deafening/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«deafening» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/deafening.html) on Mova free.