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Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive, and should be avoided.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

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

From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2018

A more sentimental heart would have experienced curiosity or sympathy for the girl whom she had replaced; a more inventive mind would have seen herself as that deaf-mute, growing up in silence.

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 am a deaf-mute, but I read the lips and understand what is said to me.

From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers