# deaf

> English word · Adjective · IPA /dɛf/ · frequency rank #7,214

## Definitions
1. Unable (or partially able) to hear.
2. Unwilling to listen or be persuaded; determinedly inattentive.
3. Of or relating to the community of deaf people.
4. Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened.
5. Decayed; tasteless; useless.

## Etymology
From Middle English def, deef, from Old English dēaf, from Proto-West Germanic *daub, from Proto-Germanic *daubaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τυφλός (tuphlós, “blind”). See also dumb. Doublet of daff, dof, and dowf.

## Easily confused with
- **DNA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dna)
- **del** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-del)
- **Dec** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dec)
- **Des** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-des)
- **der** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-der)
- **den** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-den)
- **def** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-def)
- **dem** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dem)
- **Dee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dee)
- **dev** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dev)
- **dew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dew)
- **DEI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dei)
- **dex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dex)
- **deb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-deb)
- **dey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dey)
- **deo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-deo)
- **dep** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dep)
- **DHA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-dha)
- **DOA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-doa)
- **ded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/deaf-vs-ded)

## Common misspellings (5)
`daef`, `ddeaf`, `deaff`, `defa`, `edaf`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/deaf