to tune out

Examples

• All

• During the meeting, she decided to tune out the negative comments and focus on the positive feedback.

• Working on movie sets for the past twenty-odd years has taught him to tune out all manner of chaos.

  Fiction book (2001)

• And at some points I had to tune out just to stay positive.

• And I think the more you can kind of tune out what other people are doing.

• Looks like your friend tuned out.

  Tsunambee (2017)

• You understand how easy it is to tune out and drop off the edge into your own little world.

  Fiction book (1992)

• You cannot tune out; you must stay aware and involved at all times.

  Academic text (1994)

• So, I'm just gonna put some music in my ears and tune out the world.

  As Certain as Death (2023)

• One way to think about focus, is that you're able to tune out irrelevant information around you.

  Florian's Knights (2021)

• To concentrate on my studies, I often need to tune out distractions around me.

Synonyms

I

to ignore

vsto tune out

∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

also includes losing interest or drifting off rather than only refusal to listen

D

to disregard

vsto tune out

119 3.9

Ignore something or someone on purpose

may include drifting away from attention rather than only judging as unimportant

B

to block out

vsto tune out

38 4.0

To stop yourself remembering or noticing something unpleasant

focuses on stopping inputs physically rather than on losing interest

P

to push aside

vsto tune out

7 4.1

Refuse to think about something, for example worries or objections

can instead describe passive loss of interest rather than active dismissal

T

to take your eye off the ball

vsto tune out

• Informal

7 6.5

Stop paying attention to what is important

applies more to critical task failure rather than casual loss of interest

T

to turn a deaf ear

vsto tune out

4 6.1

Refuse to listen to someone who gives advice or warnings

can also mean losing interest rather than an active refusal to hear

S

to space out

vsto tune out

• Informal

4 7.7

To stop paying attention for a short time because your mind wanders

is often a deliberate refusal to listen rather than simple drifting of attention

F

to filter out the noise

vsto tune out

• Informal

1 3.5

To remove unwanted sounds or information to focus on what matters

is sometimes passive, meaning attention slips rather than active filtering

B

to block out distractions

vsto tune out

3.5

Ignore noises and other things that interrupt your attention

can happen by losing interest rather than by actively removing interruptions

Antonyms

P

to pay attention

∞ 1.6

To focus on someone or something and notice carefully

E

to engage

676 3.4

To take part in an activity

How Attentive

to concentrate

561 3.4

to notice

∞ 1.0

to ignore

∞ 1.0

to tune out

• Informal

19 4.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology