turn a deaf ear

1. Refuse to listen, as in You can plead all day but he's turning a deaf ear to everyone. This expression dates from the first half of the 1400s and was in most proverb collections from 1546 on. Also see fall on deaf ears.

Example Sentences

Earlier this week , the group released a reflection declaring, “No one can turn a deaf ear to the palpable cries of anxiety and fear heard in communities throughout the country in the wake of a surge in immigration enforcement activities.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Today we are led by a man who believes the best thing to do to ensure world peace is to deny science, deny immigrants a chance at a decent life, quit investing in international health organizations, destroy the Palestinians while paving over Gaza and turn a deaf ear to international reactions to these policies by eliminating any ability to gather intelligence.

Read more on Salon

"There's only so many times you can turn a deaf ear to being called murdering scum," smiles former fox hunt master, Byron John.

Read more on BBC

The Arab group of nations says the Security Council cannot turn a deaf ear to the pleas of the international community demanding a ceasefire.

Read more on BBC

They turn a deaf ear when the Russian leader dismisses Ukraine as a fake nation without a real identity.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• disobey 
• forget 
• neglect 
• omit 
• overlook