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stone-deaf

[ stohn-def ]
/ ˈstoʊnˈdɛf /
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adjective
totally deaf.
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Origin of stone-deaf

First recorded in 1830–40; stone + deaf
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use stone-deaf in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for stone-deaf

stone-deaf

adjective
completely deaf

usage for stone-deaf

Use of this word to refer to people with serious hearing difficulties is potentially very offensive: preferred form: profoundly deaf
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with stone-deaf

stone deaf

Totally unable to hear, as in Poor Grandpa, in the last year he's become stone deaf. [First half of 1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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