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
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deafnessnoun
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nondeafnessnoun
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semideafnessnoun
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half-deafadjective
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nondeafadjective
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quasi-deafadjective
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semideafadjective
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undeafadjective
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deaflyadverb
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nondeaflyadverb
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quasi-deaflyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
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.
See Examples For:
He was becoming profoundly deaf and now sported bright pink hearing aids, but his work had made him wealthy.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Instead, he does community outreach for the about 20,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing children in the state whose hearing aids are not covered by their insurance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Before foreign stocks emerged from their coma last year, calls to look abroad mostly fell on deaf ears.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
"If you're not concerned about global warming, you must be deaf, blind altogether, right? So it is there, yes. We have to be concerned and try to do something about it," he said.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
“All right, all right. I’m not deaf, I’m thankful to say—no need to shout,” he heard her saying calmly.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
As it dawns on her how dangerous and unwieldy the company she wants to inherit actually is, Shiv no longer tries to make herself useful to her dad — and Logan’s ears turn deafer.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2021
“I’m getting more deafer and my wife is getting more louder,” he said with a laugh.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 24, 2017
They are "all screen and the speakers face backwards", he said, though he conceded: "We are all getting a little older and, perhaps, deafer."
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2017
This suggests a co-evolutionary struggle in which the mother’s body becomes deafer as the offspring becomes louder.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 27, 2011
Old Gamgee did not look much older, but he was a little deafer.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
But even the deafest and most stay-at-home began to hear queer tales; and those whose business took them to the borders saw strange things.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
I have talked my throat hoarse to each of the very deafest old ladies in turn,—I suppose they came here purposely to be screeched at,—and I saw you working valiantly among the old men.
From Only an Incident by Litchfield, Grace Denio
The power of the Bible is that the deafest souls can therein hear—GOD.
From The Right and Wrong Uses of the Bible by Newton, R. Heber
She was deaf as a post, - as said before -And as deaf as twenty similes more,Including the adder, that deafest of snakes,Which never hears the coil it makes.
From Playful Poems by Morley, Henry
Wild laughter, and high-pitched voices singing many favorite nursery airs and school-room songs made noise enough to reach the ears even of the deafest.
From Polly A New-Fashioned Girl by Meade, L. T.
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.
