To make dull, blunt, or less sharp; to stupefy or make someone mentally sluggish.
From Latin hebetatus, past participle of hebetare (to make dull), derived from hebēs meaning dull or blunt. The word evolved through Late Latin and entered English medical and philosophical terminology in the 17th century.
This word is almost extinct in modern English, but doctors and philosophers once used it to describe everything from dulling a blade to describing someone's foggy mental state—it's a poetic way to talk about the mind getting fuzzy.
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