Wanting the sense of hearing, either wholly or in part; unable to perceive sounds; hard of hearing; as, a deaf man. Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf. Shak.
Unwilling to hear or listen; determinedly inattentive; regardless; not to be persuaded as to facts, argument, or exhortation; -- with to; as, deaf to reason. O, that men's ears should be To counsel deaf, but not to flattery! Shak.
Deprived of the power of hearing; deafened. Deaf with the noise, I took my hasty flight. Dryden.
Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened. [R.] A deaf murmur through the squadron went. Dryden.
Decayed; tasteless; dead; as, a deaf nut; deaf corn. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. If the season be unkindly and intemperate, they [peppers] will catch a blast; and then the seeds will be deaf, void, light, and naught. Holland. Deaf and dumb, without the sense of hearing or the faculty of speech. See Deaf-mute.
To deafen. [Obs.] Dryden.
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