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Glite Dictionary
profoundly deaf

profoundly deaf

2 3.9
Cannot hear at all
  • adjective
  • /prəˈfaʊndli dɛf/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sordo profundo
  • She was left profoundly deaf in both ears.
  • profoundly deaf infants

Examples

  • Felicity has neurofibromatosis, which has as a result, left her profoundly deaf and with low vision.

  • Cochlear implants (CIs) have been designed to assist individuals who are severely to profoundly deaf with verbal communication.

    Academic text (2010)

  • I very suddenly and unexpectedly found myself profoundly deaf late in 2007.

    Blog text (9)

  • Many children who are deaf-blind are not totally blind and profoundly deaf.

    Academic text (1996)

  • For example, one profoundly deaf child demonstrated his interest by seeking out and even playing drums and bells prior to the music lesson.

    Academic text (2009)

  • People with Type I are born profoundly deaf with RP and have no vestibular function.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The doctor at the institute confirmed that Louis was profoundly deaf.

  • By the time she was 11, a doctor diagnosed her as being profoundly deaf.

  • What made the diagnosis even scarier was that Kennedy was born profoundly deaf.

Synonyms

deaf
vsprofoundly deaf
212 1.0

Not able to hear, completely or partly

means complete loss in all cases, not sometimes partial
deaf as a post
vsprofoundly deaf
  • UK
2 8.6

Unable to hear anything at all

is the standard clinical expression rather than a colloquial idiom
stone-deaf
vsprofoundly deaf
1 6.7

Unable to hear anything at all

is a clinical term rather than an emphatic colloquial form
unhearing
vsprofoundly deaf
  • Archaic
8.2

Not able to hear anything

is the clinical phrase focusing on total hearing loss
deafened
vsprofoundly deaf
4.7

No longer able to hear because of loud noise or injury

denotes total hearing loss regardless of cause

How Deaf

profoundly deaf
  • Specialized
2 3.9
deaf
4 2.3

Surface Forms

profoundly deaf positive

Morphology

profoundly + deaf

This is a compositional intensifier + adjective construction: 'profoundly' (very/completely) modifies 'deaf' (unable to hear), so the meaning 'completely unable to hear' follows directly from the parts. The pattern of an adverb strengthening an adjective is common cross-linguistically and thus readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The adjective profoundly deaf combines profoundly ('very deep') and deaf ('unable to hear'), so imagine sound falling into a deep, silent well where nothing comes back. That's why it means 'completely unable to hear'.