deafness
/ˈdɛfnəs/ noun
Forms deafnesses
- noun The condition of being deaf; the lack or loss of the ability to hear.
- noun (figurative) Lack of knowledge or refusal to admit a particular problem, issue, etc. “their deafness to her cries”
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English deefnesse; equivalent to deaf + -ness.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Incapacity of perceiving sounds; the state of the organs which prevents the impression which constitute hearing; want of the sense of hearing.
- noun Unwillingness to hear; voluntary rejection of what is addressed to the understanding. Nervous deafness, a variety of deafness dependent upon morbid change in some portion of the nervous system, especially the auditory nerve.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “deafness”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details