Tone-deaf - Wiktionary

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  • 1 English Toggle English subsection
    • 1.1 Alternative forms
    • 1.2 Pronunciation
    • 1.3 Adjective
      • 1.3.1 Derived terms
      • 1.3.2 Translations
      • 1.3.3 See also
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English

[edit]
English Wikipedia has an article on:amusia § Congenital amusiaWikipedia

Alternative forms

[edit]
  • tone deaf

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Adjective

[edit]

tone-deaf (comparative more tone-deaf, superlative most tone-deaf)

  1. Unable to clearly distinguish the difference in pitch between different notes. Although he was tone-deaf, he was a great lyricist. This is a distinction unavailable to the tone-deaf.
  2. (colloquial) Having little or a shallow or banal appreciation of music, whether or not as a result of tone deafness.
  3. (colloquial, figurative) Out of touch with the experience of ordinary people. a politician's tone-deaf remarks about the price of bread The elected official's tone-deaf remarks about the operations of the clerk’s office were disappointing.
  4. (colloquial, figurative) Insensitive and offensive as a result of not noticing the current social context.
    • 2023 May 24, Philip Galanes, “I Used a Slur for Accuracy When Repeating a Joke. Why Is Everyone Upset?”, in The New York Times‎[1]:Otherwise, saying “N-word” is plenty accurate; I knew exactly what you meant. And arguing for your need to use an explosive term, when a common euphemism will do, makes you seem defensive and tone-deaf.
    • 2024 May 21, Arwa Mahdawi, “Sex-positive feminism had its moment – and now it has been replaced by voluntary celibacy”, in The Guardian‎[2], →ISSN:The campaign – which Fast Company described as “eyebrow-raising”, “controversial” and “tone-deaf” – did not land well.

Derived terms

[edit]
  • tone-deafly
  • tone-deafness

Translations

[edit] unable to distinguish differences in pitch
  • Arabic: أَصَمّ لِلطَّبَقَات الصَوْتِيَّة (ʔaṣamm li-ṭ-ṭabaqāt aṣ-ṣawtiyya)
  • Bulgarian: немузикален (nemuzikalen)
  • Catalan: dur d'orella
  • Chinese: Mandarin: 音痴的 (yīnchī de)
  • Czech: hudebně hluchý
  • Dutch: klankendoof, toondoof (nl)
  • Finnish: sävelkuuro
  • French: qui n'a pas d'oreille
  • German: ohne Gefühl für Tonhöhen, ohne musikalisches Gehör
  • Hebrew: חירש לצלילים
  • Hungarian: botfülű (hu)
  • Indonesian: buta nada (literally “tone blind”), tuli nada (literally “tone deaf”)
  • Italian: che non ha orecchio
  • Japanese: 音痴の (ja) (おんちの, onchi no)
  • Korean: 음치(音癡)의 (ko) (eumchi-ui)
  • Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
  • Malay: pekak nada
  • Norwegian: tonedøv
  • Portuguese: amúsico
  • Russian: не различа́ющий отте́нков зву́ка (ne različájuščij otténkov zvúka), немузыка́льный (ru) (nemuzykálʹnyj), медве́дь на у́хо наступи́л (ru) (medvédʹ na úxo nastupíl) (idiom: "a bear stepped on ear")
  • Spanish: sin oído musical
  • Swedish: tondöv (sv)
  • Thai: ซึ่งแยกแยะเสียงสูงต่ำของดนตรีไม่ได้ (sêung yâek yáe sĭang sŏong dtàm kŏng dondtree mâi dâai)
  • Ukrainian: ведмідь на вухо наступив (uk) (vedmidʹ na vuxo nastupyv)
  • Vietnamese: không có khả năng phân biệt chính xác các nốt nhạc khác nhau
out of touch
  • French: déconnecté (fr), hors-sol (fr)
  • German: weltfremd (de), abgehoben (de), ohne Bezug, keinen Draht (haben)
  • Indonesian: buta kenyataan (literally “blind to reality”)
  • Spanish: desubicado (es)
  • Swedish: tondöv (sv)
insensitive and offensive
  • German: taktlos (de) (if impolite), unangebracht (de), geschmacklos (de) (crude)
  • Spanish: insensible (es)
  • Swedish: tondöv (sv)

See also

[edit]
  • amusia
  • can't carry a tune in a bucket
  • have Van Gogh's ear for music
  • perfect pitch
  • stone deaf
  • tin ear
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