Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Deaden

Deaden (ded"'n) , transitive verb

[From Dead; compare Anglo-Saxon d{not transcribed}dan to kill, put to death. See Dead, a.]

1.
To make as dead; to impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; to lessen the force or acuteness of; to blunt; as, to deaden the natural powers or feelings; to deaden a sound.
As harper lays his open palm Upon his harp, to deaden its vibrations. — Longfellow
2.
To lessen the velocity or momentum of; to retard; as, to deaden a ship's headway.
3.
To make vapid or spiritless; as, to deaden wine.
4.
To deprive of gloss or brilliancy; to obscure; as, to deaden gilding by a coat of size.
5.
To render impervious to sound, as a wall or floor; to deafen.