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Using this word to refer to people without speech is considered outdated and offensive, and should be avoided.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

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

Had she ever missed the woman, who would have become the only mother known to her had Bella been deemed flawed, as the deaf-mute was before her?

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 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