deaf W3 / def / 形容词

1 physically unable to hear anything or unable to hear well → hearing impaired :

communication between deaf and hearing people

I think Mum’s going a bit deaf .

She’s deaf and dumb (= unable to hear or speak ) and communicates using sign language.

Tom was born profoundly deaf (= having great difficulty hearing ) .

stone deaf/deaf as a post informal (= completely deaf ) → hard of hearing , tone-deaf

2 the deaf [复数形式] people who are deaf :

a school for the deaf

3 be deaf to something literary to be unwilling to hear or listen to something :

She was deaf to his pleas.

4 turn a deaf ear (to something) to be unwilling to listen to what someone is saying or asking :

The factory owners turned a deaf ear to the demands of the workers.

5 fall on deaf ears if advice or a warning falls on deaf ears, everyone ignores it

— deafness 名词 [不可数名词]

COLLOCATIONS

动词

go deaf (= become deaf ) By the time he was 50 he had begun to go deaf.

be born deaf If the mother gets the disease, her baby may be born deaf.

leave somebody deaf (= cause someone to become deaf ) A blow on the head left him permanently deaf.

副词

totally deaf (= completely deaf ) He was totally deaf, and unable to walk.

partially deaf (= partly deaf ) Most children who are partially deaf can be taught in normal schools.

stone deaf informal (= completely deaf ) She must be stone deaf if she didn’t hear all that noise!

profoundly deaf technical (= completely deaf ) Many profoundly deaf children have great difficulty in learning to read.

短语

as deaf as a post informal (= completely deaf ) He won’t hear you - he’s as deaf as a post.

deaf in one ear The illness left her deaf in one ear.

THESAURUS

deaf 形容词 physically unable to hear anything, or unable to hear well : Deaf people use sign language to communicate.

be hard of hearing to have difficulty hearing things, for example because you are old : You’ll have to speak up – she’s a bit hard of hearing. | subtitles for the hard of hearing

hearing-impaired formal 形容词 having a permanent physical condition which makes it difficult for you to hear things : Not all hearing-impaired people are completely deaf.