asordar

A literary, rarely used verb meaning to deafen someone with noise — to overwhelm the ears so completely that a person can't hear anything else (el estruendo lo asordaba). Everyday Spanish reaches for ensordecer instead; asordar mostly survives in older or highly literary texts.

• El estruendo de la maquinaria asordaba a los obreros. — The roar of the machinery deafened the workers.
• Tantas voces a la vez lo asordaron por un momento. — So many voices at once deafened him for a moment.
• El silencio, tras el ruido, casi asordaba también. — The silence, after the noise, was almost deafening too.

Reaching for asordar in everyday speech — virtually all contemporary speakers say ensordecer for "to deafen"; asordar will read as unusually literary or old-fashioned.

Often confused with ensordecer.