- Partially or completely lacking in the sense of hearing.
- Deaf Of or relating to the Deaf or their culture.
- Unwilling or refusing to listen; heedless: was deaf to our objections.
- Deaf people considered as a group. Used with the.
- 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.]
deafly deaf'ly adv.deafness deaf'ness n.
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.
