"very loud," 1590s, present-participle adjective from deafen (q.v.). Deafening silence "heavy and conspicuous silence," especially as a response to a question, is attested by 1830.
deadpan
dead-weight
deadwood
deaf
deafen
deafening
deafness
deal
dealer
dealership
dealt
)window.location='https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=byronic106@yahoo.com&lc=US&item_name=Donation+to +Help+Keep+Etymonline+Free+and+Open&no_note=0&cn=&curency_code=USD&bn=PP-DonationsBF:btn_donateCC_LG.gif:NonHosted'){kind=link}