Standard Lemma guide

obtund

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /əbˈtʌnd/
  • UK: /ɒbˈtʌnd/
  • US: /əbˈtʌnd/
  • US: /ɑbˈtʌnd/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌnd

1

verb

Meaning 1

To reduce the edge or effects of; to mitigate; to dull.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

reduce the edge or violence of

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • obtunded reflexes

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: deaden, blunt

History

Etymology

Latin obtundere (“to dull", "deaden", "deafen”), from ob- (see ob-) + tundere. More at obtuse.

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: притъпявам (pritǎpjavam) — to dull
  • Finnish: hillitä — to dull
  • Finnish: rajoittaa — to dull
  • German: abstumpfen — to dull
  • Norwegian Bokmål: døyve — to dull
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dulme — to dull