deaf

adjective
UK: /def/
US: /dɛf/

  1. Unable to hear, either completely or partially.

    1. My grandma is deaf and uses a hearing aid. [ ] [ ]
    2. Because of the loud music, I was temporarily deaf in my left ear. [ ] [ ]

  2. Unwilling to listen or pay attention; refusing to acknowledge something.

    1. She was deaf to all our advice. [ ] [ ]
    2. The government remained deaf to the pleas of the striking workers. [ ] [ ]

Synonyms

oblivious hard of hearing hearing-impaired heedless unhearing
deaf transitive-verb

  1. To make someone unable to hear, either temporarily or permanently.

    1. The explosion deafened her. [ ] [ ]
    2. The loud music threatened to deafen everyone in the club. [ ] [ ]
deaf plural-noun

  1. People who are deaf considered as a group.

    1. The school caters specifically for the deaf. [ ] [ ]
    2. Technology has greatly improved communication for the deaf. [ ] [ ]

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "deaf" in English means: Unable to hear, either completely or partially., Unwilling to listen or pay attention; refusing to acknowledge something..

The phonetic transcription of "deaf" is /def/ in British English and /dɛf/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "deaf": oblivious, hard of hearing, hearing-impaired, heedless, unhearing.

Example usage of "deaf": "My grandma is deaf and uses a hearing aid.". More examples on the page.