turn a deaf ear

Verb CEFR C2

Definitions

To refuse to listen to.

Equivalents

Españolhacer oídos sordos hacerse el sordo

Françaisfaire la sourde oreille

Deutsch(gegenüber etwas) sich taub stellen Bohnen in den Ohren haben

11 more languages

Suomikaikua kuuroille korville

Magyara füle botját sem mozdítja

Íslenskadaufheyrast við láta eins og vind um eyru þjóta láta sem vind um eyru þjótaskella skolleyrum við

Italianofare orecchi da mercante

日本語聞く耳を持たぬ

Latinaobsurdesco

Portuguêsfazer ouvidos de mercador fazer ouvidos moucos

Русскийпропуска́ть ми́мо уше́й

Svenskaslå dövörat till

Tiếng Việtbỏ ngoài tai

Examples

“They turned a deaf ear to her entreaties.”

“This really confirms that Sacramentans turn ⟳ a deaf ear to efforts to legislate bigotry and homophobia. Sacramento ought to take ⟳ a lot of pride in looking at their community as one that tolerates diversity.”

CEFR level

C2

Mastery
This word is part of the CEFR C2 vocabulary — mastery level.

See all C2 English words →

See also

turn a hair turn a number of shades of red turn a phrase turn a profit turn a setback into a comeback turn a trick

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