deaf

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled deef

US /dɛf/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like death /θ/ vs /f/

Freq #3513

Meanings

1

adj
Unable to hear, either completely or partly.

He has been deaf since he was a child.
2

adj
Unwilling to listen to something.

They were deaf to all our warnings.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

hearing-impaired

Word family

Forms deaferdeafest

Derived forms beat-deafdeaf-blinddeaf-blindnessdeaf-mutedeaf-mutenessdeafblinddeafendeafiedeafishdeafismdeaflydeaflympian

Related forms inaudible

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

profoundly deaf
having extremely little or no ability to hear

Adverb + adjective

Idioms (1)

See all

fall on deaf ears
to be ignored without producing any response or acknowledgment

Simplified etymology

Deaf comes from an ancient root that also produced Greek tuphlos “blind.” The root probably referred generally to dulled perception rather than specifically to impaired hearing.

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.

*dʰewbʰ- Proto-Indo-European def Middle English dēaf Old English *daub Proto-West Germanic *daubaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# deaf

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /dɛf/
**Frequency rank:** 3513

## Meanings
1. Unable to hear, either completely or partly.
2. Unwilling to listen to something.

## Examples
- He has been deaf since he was a child.
- They were deaf to all our warnings.

## Synonyms
- hearing-impaired

## Derived Forms
- beat-deaf
- deaf-blind
- deaf-blindness
- deaf-mute
- deaf-muteness
- deafblind
- deafen
- deafie
- deafish
- deafism
- deafly
- deaflympian

## Related Forms
- inaudible

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *dʰewbʰ-
- Root: def
- Root: dēaf
- Root: *daub
- Root: *daubaz

## 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.

## AI Etymology
deaf comes 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. The historical chain includes Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-, Middle English def, Old English dēaf, Proto-West Germanic *daub, Proto-Germanic *daubaz. Current senses include Unable to hear, either completely or partly and Unwilling to listen to something. English relatives and later formations include beat-deaf, deaf-blind, deaf-blindness, inaudible.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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