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Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive, and should be avoided.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

• deaf-muteness
  noun
• deaf-mutism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of deaf-mute

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

Example Sentences

A young servant fleeing from his master takes refuge at a dysfunctional convent in medieval Tuscany, disguising himself as a deaf-mute.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 1, 2021

Bella’s father, indulging her in an absent-minded manner, did not have any real interest in her—this Bella had understood and accepted when she was young, as she had the story of 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

Meanwhile, a deaf-mute wrestler from Delhi has shown that disability cannot come in the way of courage and achievement, reports .

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2013

I knew the part about pretending I was a deaf-mute was crazy, but I liked thinking about it anyway.

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