muffle

Grace now uses ear defenders every night, but they only muffle the sound rather than blocking it out entirely.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

State said China had used a technique known as decoupling to muffle the register and evade detection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026

I watched as the woman cuffed the phone receiver, attempting, ironically, to muffle the private information she was giving to a 13-year-old.

From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2023

As they fade away, the brush-topped dunes muffle the peeps of piping plovers and the crash of ocean waves.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 14, 2023

I think she covers her mouth with a towel to muffle her sobs.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez

Mr. Orhan offsets the novel’s magical realism with plainspoken prose that muffles Dilara’s increasingly volatile desires.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026

The visible clutter sets off a contagious, slightly embarrassed giggle, which she muffles with her hands.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2025

Gestational diabetes most commonly occurs during the third trimester of pregnancy when a woman’s body naturally muffles insulin signals, sparking labor difficulties for the woman and long-term afflictions for a newborn baby.

From Washington Times ● May 31, 2023

It dampens our desires and muffles our joy.

From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2021

Hannah screams for a half second but quickly muffles it with her own hand.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

One caveat: So much former junk-bond issuance has migrated to private credit that the signal may now be more muffled.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Collins stood outside for several agonizing minutes, hearing their muffled voices.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

The ride and roadholding compromise is well struck, with road impacts well damped and muffled, and transient body motions kept in check.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

In the pop melody “Volveré,” she questions where her heart will remain once she leaves town, as muffled trumpets chime in at the outro.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

With a muffled ding the elevator doors slid open.

From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn

"But a quantum computer acts like noise-canceling headphones that compare combinations of answers, amplifying the right ones while muffling the wrong ones."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026

He dropped his face in his hands, muffling his voice.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024

In front of Eirik Johnson’s photo diptychs, you wonder: Does snow — a thick, muffling blanket devoid of color — obscure or reveal?

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

Seated on his sofa in a button-down shirt, worn Levi’s and blue-rimmed round glasses, Duncan offers me a chair and keeps distractions at bay, at one point muffling his ringing cellphone with a throw pillow.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2023

He went to the closet and rummaged in the back, the old overcoats and bagged dresses inside muffling his voice.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng