English Explanatory Dictionary

deaf

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Unable (or partially able) to hear.
  2. Unwilling to listen or be persuaded; determinedly inattentive.
  3. Of or relating to the community of deaf people.
  4. Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened.
  5. Decayed; tasteless; useless.
noun
  1. A deaf person.
verb
  1. To deafen.
adj
  1. Of or relating to the culture surrounding deaf users of sign languages.

Pronunciation

dĕf /dɛf/ dēf /diːf/ /dɛːf/ en-us-deaf.ogg

Word forms

deaf deafer deafest deafs deafing deafed

Etymology

From Middle English def, deef, from Old English dēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub, from Proto-Germanic *daubaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τυφλός (tuphlós, “blind”). See also dumb. Doublet of daff, dof, and dowf. Cognate with Dutch doof, German taub, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål døv, Norwegian Nynorsk dauv, Swedish döv, Faroese deyvur, Icelandic daufur.

Synonyms

hard of hearing hearing-impaired

Related words

inaudible

Derived words

are you deaf beat-deaf cock a deaf 'un Deaf deaf adder deaf aid deaf and dumb deaf as a doorknob deaf as a doornail deaf as a doorpost deaf as a post deafblind deaf-blind deaf-blindness deafen deafie deafish deafism deafly Deaflympian Deaflympic Deaflympics deaf-mute deaf-muteness deafness deafo Deaf Smith County deaf waddler dip hop fall on deaf ears I'm deaf inattentionally deaf nondeaf nose deaf preach to deaf ears semideaf stone-deaf stone deaf tone-deaf turn a deaf ear undeaf
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