v. 25B6; verb
surgeons tried to deaden the pain : NUMB, dull, blunt, suppress; alleviate, mitigate, diminish, reduce, lessen, ease, soothe, relieve, assuage.
the wood panelling deadened any noise : MUFFLE, mute, smother, stifle, dull, damp (down); silence, quieten, soften; cushion, buffer, absorb.
laughing might deaden us to the moral issue : DESENSITIZE, numb, anaesthetize; harden (one's heart), toughen.
intensify, amplify, sensitize.