awake the dead, baffle, blast, blast the ear, boom, crash, crescendo, cushion, damp, dampen, deaden, din, dull, fill the air, muffle, mute, peal, rattle the windows, rend the air, rend the ears, resound, ring, rise, rock the sky, soft-pedal, soften, split the eardrums, split the ears, startle the echoes, stop, stun, subdue, surge, swell, thunder, tone down