numblyadv.
/ˈnʌmli/, U.S. /ˈnəmli/ In a numb manner; torpidly; unfeelingly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > physical insensibility > [adverb]
unfeelinglyc1374
numbly1577
insensibly1584
torpidly1820
zombie-like1941
1577 N. Breton Wks. Young Wyt f. 16 One eie sees ill, one legge but lamely standes, he numly sturres, that lackes one of his handes.
1657 H. Crompton Poems 107 Cupid, arme: Gird on thy quiver, take thy bow And numbly go And seek a she that thou maiest charme.
a1849 S. Maunder Hist. World (1854) 423 Simnel conducted himself so numbly and satisfactorily, that he was afterwards advanced to the rank of falconer.
1880 Appleton's Jrnl. Oct. 345/2 He arranged the chessmen in every conceivable way, all the while being numbly conscious that a totally different combination would arise.
1897 S. R. Crockett Lads' Love xxiv. 244 Her fingers fumbled numbly with the string.
1948 S. J. Perelman Westward Ha! viii. 96 Hirschfeld and I numbly watched our dossiers being woven into the vast crazy quilt of the Alien Registration Section.
1967 R. Sutcliff Outcast xii. 153 The spent rowers slid numbly from their benches to huddle under the shelter of the bulwarks.
1987 R. Thomas Strangers ii. 68 Martin shook his head numbly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1577