Word forms: comparative deafer, superlative deafest
1. adjective
Someone who is deaf is unable to hear anything or is unable to hear very well.
She is now profoundly deaf.
Synonyms: hard of hearing, without hearing, stone deaf, deaf as a post [informal] More Synonyms of deaf
The deaf are people who are deaf. This use could cause offence.
Many regular TV programs are captioned for the deaf.
deafnessuncountable noun
Because of her deafness she had had to become an expert lip reader.
2. adjective
If you say that someone is deaf to people's requests, arguments, or criticisms, you are criticizing them because they refuse to pay attention to them.
[disapproval]
The provincial assembly were deaf to all pleas for financial help. [+ to]
Synonyms: oblivious, indifferent, unmoved, unconcerned More Synonyms of deaf
3. to fall on deaf ears
4. to turn a deaf ear
deaf in British English
(dɛf)
adjective
1.
a.
partially or totally unable to hear
b. often offensive
(as collective noun; preceded by the)
the deaf
See also tone-deaf
2.
refusing to heed
deaf to the cries of the hungry
▶ USAGE Referring to any group using a formula such as the deaf is inappropriate because it glosses over people's individuality and perpetuates stereotypes.It is preferable to use phrases such as deaf people
Derived forms
deafly (ˈdeafly)
adverb
deafness (ˈdeafness)
noun
Word origin
Old English dēaf; related to Old Norse daufr
deaf in American English
(dɛf)
adjective
1.
totally or partially unable to hear
2.
unwilling to hear or listen; giving no heed
deaf to her pleas
Derived forms
deafly (ˈdeafly)
adverb
deafness (ˈdeafness)
noun
Word origin
ME def < OE deaf, akin to Ger taub, Goth *daufs < IE *dheubh-, misty, obscured < base *dheu-: see dull
More idioms containing
deaf
fall on deaf ears
turn a deaf ear to something
deaf as a post
Examples of 'deaf' in a sentence
deaf
When you are too cosy with the money interests you are going to become tone deaf to the people.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She is a grandmother, partially deaf and takes out her hearing aids to swim.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Week 1 Puppies are born blind and deaf and with a limited sense of smell.
The Sun (2016)
They ticked the boxes but were deaf and blind to the possibility of injustice.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
New ones must help people who are deaf or blind.
The Sun (2012)
He is so deaf you will hear all our secrets.
Elizabeth Gaskell North and South (1855)
He says he is partially deaf because of listening to music on headphones.
The Sun (2006)
They are deaf and blind to public dismay at the cultural tsunami heading their way.
The Sun (2015)
It will also help protect the deaf and people who leave their homes empty.
The Sun (2011)
The narrator makes himself deaf from playing the drums and settles into a gentle life.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
And pity the nine million partially deaf people on these islands.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Others were unable to identify the stick carried by deaf and blind pedestrians.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Others have been left deaf or blind.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
She said they showed deaf people could be more proficient in jobs which involved seeing a wide area of activities quickly.
The Sun (2010)
The problem left him partially deaf.
The Sun (2008)
Almost nine million people in Britain are deaf or hard of hearing.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Don't let jealousy make you deaf or he may get fed up with reassuring you.
The Sun (2008)
She's a partially blind and deaf thalidomide victim awaiting spinal surgery.
The Sun (2013)
He is now profoundly deaf.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
As I was deaf it was hard for them to explain it to me.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
He promptly calls his fiancée with his (until now deaf) ear to the phone.
Christianity Today (2000)
Although he began to learn sign language at just 15 months old, being deaf made it hard for him to make friends.
The Sun (2010)
Quotations
There's none so deaf as those that will not hear
In other languages
deaf
British English: deaf /dɛf/ ADJECTIVE
Someone who is deaf is unable to hear anything or is unable to hear very well.
She is now profoundly deaf.
American English: deaf
Arabic: أَصَمّ
Brazilian Portuguese: surdo
Chinese: 耳聋的
Croatian: gluh
Czech: hluchý
Danish: døv
Dutch: doof
European Spanish: sordo
Finnish: kuuro
French: sourd
German: taub
Greek: κουφός
Italian: sordo
Japanese: 耳の聞こえない
Korean: 귀가 들리지 않는
Norwegian: døv
Polish: głuchy
European Portuguese: surdo
Romanian: surd
Russian: глухой
Latin American Spanish: sordo
Swedish: döv
Thai: หูหนวก
Turkish: sağır
Ukrainian: глухий
Vietnamese: điếc
All related terms of 'deaf'
deaf aid
a device for assisting the hearing of partially deaf people, typically consisting of a small battery-powered electronic amplifier with microphone and earphone , worn in or behind the ear
deaf-mute
A deaf-mute is someone who cannot hear or speak. This word could cause offence .
half-deaf
unable to hear very well
tone-deaf
If you say that someone is tone-deaf , you mean that they cannot sing in tune or recognize different tunes.
stone deaf
Someone who is stone deaf cannot hear at all.
partially deaf
having a degree of hearing loss; partly deaf
profoundly deaf
unable to hear any sound below 95 decibels in one's better ear
deaf-and-dumb
unable to hear or speak
prelingually deaf
deaf from birth or having acquired deafness before learning to speak
deaf as a post
very deaf
turn a deaf ear
to be deliberately unresponsive
deaf without speech
(usually of a prelingually deaf person) able to utter sounds but not speak
fall on deaf ears
if something you say to someone falls on deaf ears, they take no notice of what you have said
to leave somebody partially deaf
to make someone partly deaf
turn a deaf ear to something
to refuse to consider a request or an opinion and not pay any attention to it
to fall on deaf ears to turn a deaf ear
If a request falls on deaf ears or if the person to whom the request is made turns a deaf ear to it, they take no notice of it.
auditory aphasia
loss of ability to understand spoken words, esp as the result of a cerebral lesion
Chinese translation of 'deaf'
deaf
(dɛf)
adj
(totally) 聋(聾)的 (lóng de)
(partially) 耳背的 (ěrbèi de)
deaf to sth不听(聽)某事 (bù tīng mǒushì)
n pl
the deaf耳聋(聾)者 (ěrlóngzhě)
to turn a deaf ear to sth对(對)某事充耳不闻(聞) (duì mǒushì chōng ěr bù wén)
1 (adjective)
Definition
unable to hear
She is now profoundly deaf.
Synonyms
hard of hearing
without hearing
stone deaf
deaf as a post (informal)
unhearing
2 (adjective)
The assembly were deaf to all pleas for financial help.
Synonyms
oblivious
She appeared oblivious to her surroundings.
indifferent
People have become indifferent to the suffering of others.
unmoved
She carried on criticizing me in this vein, but I was unmoved.
unconcerned
unsympathetic
an unsympathetic doctor
impervious
They are impervious to all suggestion of change.
unresponsive
heedless
She scattered the letters about in her heedless haste.
unhearing
proverb
There's none so deaf as those that will not hear
Additional synonyms
in the sense of heedless
Definition
taking no notice
She scattered the letters about in her heedless haste.
Synonyms
careless,
reckless,
negligent,
rash,
precipitate,
oblivious,
foolhardy,
thoughtless,
unthinking,
imprudent,
neglectful,
inattentive,
incautious,
unmindful,
unobservant
in the sense of impervious
Definition
not influenced by a feeling, argument, etc.
They are impervious to all suggestion of change.
Synonyms
unaffected,
immune,
unmoved,
closed,
untouched,
proof,
invulnerable,
unreceptive,
unswayable
in the sense of indifferent
Definition
showing no concern or interest
People have become indifferent to the suffering of others.