phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
turn a deaf ear to
UK/tɜːn ə ˈdef ɪə tuː/US/tɜrn ə ˈdef ɪr tu/tur·n a DEAF·ear to
speakingtask2
to deliberately ignore what someone says or refuses to listen to advice/requests
Examples
“Despite repeated warnings, the company turned a deaf ear to safety concerns.”
“Parents shouldn't turn a deaf ear to children's mental health problems.”
“He turned a deaf ear to all attempts to help him.”
Band 8 sentence
“Faced with mounting evidence, the minister could no longer turn a deaf ear to calls for reform.”
Collocations
- turn a deaf ear to + warnings/requests/appeals
- turn a deaf ear to + persistent advice
Word family
turn a deaf ear to idiom/phrasal verbturned a deaf ear to verb (past)turning a deaf ear to verb (gerund)
Common mistakes
turn deaf ear to→turn a deaf ear to
Say it for a higher band
5ignore→6pay no attention to→7+turn a deaf ear to
Synonyms
ignore
dismiss
Easily confused
ignore
“They ignored the advice of experts and suffered the consequences.”
Related words
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