turn a deaf ear (to someone or something)
To ignore or refuse to listen to someone or something; to fail to pay attention to something someone says. The government has been turning a deaf ear to the pleas of its most vulnerable citizens. I'll never forgive myself for turning a deaf ear when my roommate was clearly crying out for help.
turn a deaf ear (to someone or something)
to ignore what someone says; to ignore a cry for help. How can you just turn a deaf ear to their cries for food and shelter? Jack turned a deaf ear to our pleading.
turn a deaf ear
Refuse to listen, as in You can plead all day but he's turning a deaf ear to everyone. This expression dates from the first half of the 1400s and was in most proverb collections from 1546 on. Also see fall on deaf ears.
turn a deaf ear
If you turn a deaf ear to something such as a request or argument, you refuse to consider it and do not pay any attention to it. She repeatedly complained to her employers but they turned a deaf ear. The Mayor of Paris, owner of two dogs, has long turned a deaf ear to Parisians who want tougher laws to protect the cleanliness of their pavements.
turn a deaf ˈear (to something)
refuse to listen (to something); ignore something: She turned a deaf ear to her husband’s advice and took the job anyway.