deaf
Americanadjective
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partially or wholly lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing; unable to hear.
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refusing to listen, heed, or be persuaded; unreasonable or unyielding.
deaf to all advice.
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Deaf, of or relating to the Deaf or their cultural community.
Deaf customs and values.
noun
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Deaf persons collectively (usually preceded bythe ).
social services for the Deaf.
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Usually the Deaf Deaf persons who identify themselves as members of a community composed of Deaf persons and others who share in their culture.
adjective
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partially or totally unable to hear
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( as collective noun ; preceded by the ) See also tone-deaf
the deaf
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refusing to heed
deaf to the cries of the hungry
Pronunciation
Deaf is usually pronounced , with the vowel of left. In uneducated speech the dialectal pronunciation , to rhyme with leaf, is still heard occasionally, but it is increasingly rare.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of deaf
First recorded before 900; Middle English deef, Old English dēaf; cognate with Middle Low German dōf, Dutch doof, Old High German toub
Explanation
If you're deaf, you can't hear or have extremely limited hearing abilities. Many people who are deaf communicate using sign language. Some people are born deaf, while others lose their hearing later in life because of illness or injury. People who have been deaf their whole lives and are actively involved with the deaf community consider deafness a "difference in experience," not a disability. When someone accuses you of being "deaf to" their argument, they mean that you are refusing to pay attention or listen. Until the 18th century, deaf was pronounced so it rhymed with beef.
Vocabulary lists containing deaf
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They seem to be part of the subways of New York City, walking meekly up and down the cars, handing out pens and key chains, along with frayed business-size cards that read I AM DEAF.
From Time Magazine Archive
Not so: others may be DEAF; but the novelist has a loud, eloquent, instructive language, though his enemies may despise or deny it ever so much.
From The Paris Sketch Book by Thackeray, William Makepeace
Dunny, in the provincial dialect of several counties, signifies DEAF; to dun, then, perhaps may mean to deafen with importunate demands: some derive it from the word DONNEZ, which signifies GIVE.
From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Grose, Francis
In the anecdote entitled "DEAF, DUMB, BLIND, AND LAME," the character is named once as David and once as John in the original text.
From Anecdotes & Incidents of the Deaf and Dumb by Roe, W. R. (William Robert)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
