deaf-mute

American  

[def-myoot] / ˈdɛfˈmyut /

adjective

1. unable to hear and speak.

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noun

1. a person who is unable to hear and speak, especially one in whom inability to speak is due to congenital or early deafness.

deaf-mute British  

noun

1. a person who is unable to hear or speak See also mute 1 mutism

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adjective

1. unable to hear or speak

Sensitive Note

See dumb.

Usage

Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive, and should be avoided. The phrase profoundly deaf is a suitable alternative in many contexts

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• deaf-mutism
  noun
• deaf-muteness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of deaf-mute

First recorded in 1830–40; translation of French sourd-muet

Example Sentences

The mother was illiterate, and Sajid was deaf-mute, and had never had any education.

From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2018

Her haunting period piece “The Piano,” about a deaf-mute woman in 19th century New Zealand, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1993, becoming the first film directed by a woman to do so.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 2017

But she had been too young when she met Miss Chu, and she had arrived too late to know the deaf-mute.

From The New Yorker • May 1, 2017

In their prime, as bath lore has it, they were a hangout for gangsters who talked business in the saunas and so preferred deaf-mute masseurs.

From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2016

I'd cook all my own food, and later on, if I wanted to get married or something, I'd meet this beautiful girl that was also a deaf-mute and we'd get married.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger