turn a deaf ear

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turn a deaf ear (third-person singular simple present turns a deaf ear, present participle turning a deaf ear, simple past and past participle turned a deaf ear)

1. (figuratively) To refuse to listen to. [with to ‘someone/something’]

   They turned a deaf ear to her entreaties.

   • 1986 December 14, Jeffrey Ruda, quoting Ron Gray, “Sacramento Holds On To Lesbian/Gay Rights”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 22, page 2:

     This really confirms that Sacramentans turn a deaf ear to efforts to legislate bigotry and homophobia. Sacramento ought to take a lot of pride in looking at their community as one that tolerates diversity.

• fall on deaf ears
• preach to deaf ears
• turn a blind eye

• “turn a deaf ear to something” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “turn a deaf ear”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “turn a deaf ear”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.