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:
"Representation of people who are deaf or have hearing loss in the spotlight is incredibly important," Devine added.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The actor, who was born in Atlanta, was from an all-deaf family, which included four generations of deaf relatives on her father’s side, according to IMDb.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The actress, who is deaf, played the major role of "Jia" in "Godzilla v Kong" and the sequel "Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire."
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
But whenever I hear it now, I kind of turn a deaf ear to it, if that’s possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
“I told you to swim clear. Are all Assistant Pig-Keepers deaf as well as stubborn?”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
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
Nay, not noiseless—for the deafest wight that ever strove to hear with his mouth wide open, might have sworn that he heard the sound of ten thousand hammers.
From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2) by Wilson, John Lyde
But she was not so completely abandoned to hopefulness as was England—England, who turned her deafest ear to Lord Roberts' impassioned pleas for preparedness.
From Foch the Man A Life of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies by Laughlin, Clara E. (Clara Elizabeth)
And they will make such an outcry over their discovery, that their words will reach the most remote corners and penetrate the deafest ears.
From The Inquisition A Critical and Historical Study of the Coercive Power of the Church by Conway, Bertrand L. (Bertrand Louis)
Genius hovers with his sunshine and music close by the darkest and deafest eras.
From Representative Men by Emerson, Ralph Waldo
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.
