DEAF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deaf mean? 

• DEAF (noun)
  The noun DEAF has 1 sense:

1. people who have severe hearing impairments

  Familiarity information: DEAF used as a noun is very rare.

• DEAF (adjective)
  The adjective DEAF has 2 senses:

1. lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part

2. (usually followed by 'to') unwilling or refusing to pay heed

  Familiarity information: DEAF used as an adjective is rare.

• DEAF (verb)
  The verb DEAF has 1 sense:

1. make or render deaf

  Familiarity information: DEAF used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEAF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

People who have severe hearing impairments

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Context example:

many of the deaf use sign language

Hypernyms ("deaf" is a kind of...):

people ((plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively)

Meronyms (members of "deaf"):

deaf person (a person with a severe auditory impairment)

Derivation:

deaf (make or render deaf)

deaf (lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part)

• DEAF (adjective)

Comparative: deafer   
Superlative: deafest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part

Similar:

deaf-and-dumb; deaf-mute (lacking the sense of hearing and the ability to speak)

deafened (caused to hear poorly or not at all)

hard-of-hearing; hearing-impaired (having a hearing loss)

deaf as a post; profoundly deaf; stone-deaf; unhearing (totally deaf; unable to hear anything)

tone-deaf (unable to appreciate music)

Antonym:

hearing (able to perceive sound)

Derivation:

deaf (people who have severe hearing impairments)

deafness (partial or complete loss of hearing)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(usually followed by 'to') unwilling or refusing to pay heed

Synonyms:

deaf; indifferent

Context example:

deaf to her warnings

Similar:

heedless; unheeding (marked by or paying little heed or attention)

• DEAF (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make or render deaf

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

deaf; deafen

Context example:

a deafening noise

Hypernyms (to "deaf" is one way to...):

desensitise; desensitize (cause not to be sensitive)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

deaf (people who have severe hearing impairments)

 Context examples 

Hour after hour passed away, and slowly Dorothy got over her fright; but she felt quite lonely, and the wind shrieked so loudly all about her that she nearly became deaf.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

"What did you say, my dear? I am a little deaf," returned the good lady, approaching her ear to my mouth.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She is very old and deaf, and we can get no information from her.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was at too great a height for that, and having been deaf to a twice-repeated summons, he went without the heavy Sunday dinner with which Mr. Higginbotham invariably graced his table.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

But when he charged me, in return, with many messages of affection and regret for those deaf ears, he moved me more.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

My mother does not hear; she is a little deaf you know.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

One day afterward, the researchers found that the mice lacking FOXO3 had become profoundly deaf.

(Protein involved in hearing loss recovery, NIH)

But about 2 or 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing.

(Hearing Problems in Children, NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)

People who are profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing can get help from them.

(Cochlear Implants, NIH)

“Do you know you are deaf in the right ear?” I asked.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)