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hearer

hearer

7 2.8
A person who listens carefully to what someone says
  • noun
  • /ˈhɪrər/
translation icon : oyente
  • The speaker captivated every hearer in the audience with her storytelling.
  • speaker and hearer
  • normal hearers
  • cooperative hearer

And then another, we could say criterion or measure is that the hearers are, as he says, filled with grace.

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Examples

  • Charles R. Robinson examines the ways different hearers respond to musical sound.

    Academic text (1990)
  • I would also argue that in understanding what speakers mean, hearers seldom think about speaker intentions.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Stories are passed on from teller to hearer and from generation to generation.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Will it matter to the hearer exactly which aspects of language use are copied?

    Academic text (2001)
  • I'm talking about learning the language of the hearer so that you are not turned off by somebody who's really crying out for help.

  • The mission of the Spirit draws the church and hearers of the gospel toward Christ.

    Academic text (2008)
  • A speaker or writer must assume understanding in his hearers, for language that is not communication is mere noise.

    Academic text (1995)
  • James, Chapter 1, teaches us to be doers of the word and not hearers only.

  • But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

  • At least temporarily, hearers welcomed challenges to the prevailing concept of a knowable cosmos.

    Academic text (2015)

Synonyms

listener
vshearer
228 1.0

A person who pays attention and hears what others say

emphasizes focused attention to what is being said
auditor
vshearer
  • Archaic
3 5.8

A person who listens quietly to a talk or performance

is used for any attentive person, not only audience members

Antonyms

478 2.1

A person who gives a talk to an audience

8.5

A person who does not pay attention to people or things on purpose

How Attentive

hearer
7 2.8
listener
228 1.0
bystander
84 3.4

Surface Forms

hearer singular
hearers plural

Morphology

hearer = hear (transparent) = hear + er

Agentive suffix '-er' added to the verb 'hear' forms a standard, directly interpretable agent noun.

Etymology

Hearer comes from the old verb hear, which is related to the word ear, the body part for listening, and the ending -er means 'one who'. So a hearer is simply someone who 'listens' and pays attention to what is said.