1. Partially or completely lacking in the sense of hearing.
2. Deaf Of or relating to the Deaf or their culture.
3. Unwilling or refusing to listen; heedless: was deaf to our objections.

1. Deaf people considered as a group. Used with the.
2. Deaf The community of deaf people who use American Sign Language as a primary means of communication. Used with the.

[Middle English def, deef, from Old English dēaf.]

USAGE NOTE   The rise of the Deaf Pride movement in the 1980s has introduced a distinction between deaf and Deaf, with the capitalized form used specifically in referring to deaf persons belonging to the community-also known as Deaf culture-that has formed around the use of American Sign Language as the preferred means of communication. The issue of capitalization is different with deaf than it is for a term such as black. In the case of black, the decision whether or not to capitalize is essentially a matter of personal or political preference, while with deaf the capitalized and uncapitalized forms differ in meaning as well as style. Only persons who are self-identified as belonging to Deaf culture are appropriately referred to as Deaf.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.