Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fall on deaf ears

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.81 in modern English

Syllables: fal-l on deaf- ears
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be ignored.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"Every time I ask him to do something for me, it falls on deaf ears."
"Then there's the sad fact that for many, this place is all they know. It's home. Soooo, conversation relating to living beyond the walls falls on deaf ears sometimes."
"My earlier warnings, both in RAIL and in an article I wrote for The Times, have not fallen on deaf ears. There are many people (I suspect most) in the [rail] industry who recognise that telling people not to use their trains will cause lasting damage, but they are silenced publicly because they are now taking the Government's shilling."

Usage

Intransitive verb

Inflected Forms

falls on deaf ears (present, singular) falling on deaf ears (participle, present) fell on deaf ears (past) fallen on deaf ears (participle, past)

Phrases

turn a deaf ear preach to deaf ears

Frequently Paired Words

turn a deaf ear preach to deaf ears

Synonyms

go in one ear and out the other

Questions

What does fall on deaf ears mean?: To be ignored.

How to pronounce fall on deaf ears

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