ear

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. head, spike; auricle, concha; handle, knob; heed, observance.

See attention, hearing.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [The organ of hearing]

Syn. outer ear, middle ear, inner ear, auricle, eardrum, labyrinth, semicircular canal, hammer, anvil, stirrup, cochlea, concha, pinna, acoustic organ, lug (Scottish), auditory apparatus, tympanum, flapper*, listener*, cauliflower ear*.

2. [A projection]

Syn. lug, prong, projection; see bulge , handle 1 .

3. [Hearing]

Syn. discrimination, heed, notice; see attention 1 , hearing 3 .

• all ears*,

Syn. attentive, hearing, paying attention; see listening , observant 2 .

• bend someone's ear*,

Syn. jabber, chatter, be discursive; see babble , talk 1 .

• fall on deaf ears*,

Syn. be ignored, be disregarded, fail to attract notice, be received with indifference; see fail 1 .

• give or [m1]• lend an ear,

Syn. give attention, heed, attend, take notice; see listen 1 .

• have or [m1]• keep an ear to the ground*,

Syn. be aware of, be attuned to, observe, keep one's eyes open*; see listen 1 , mind 3 .

• in one ear and out the other*,

Syn. ignored, forgotten, received with indifference; see forgotten , neglected .

• play by ear,

Syn. improvise, recall, play from memory; see play 3 , remember 1 , 2 .

• play it by ear*,

Syn. improvise, extemporize, concoct, ad-lib*; see invent 1 .

• set on its ear*,

Syn. stir up, agitate, arouse; see excite 1 , 2 .

• turn a deaf ear to*,

Syn. be heedless, ignore, refuse to listen to; see neglect 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

hearing organ, auditory organ. ''The road to the heart.''—Voltaire. ''The gates to the mind.''—Moses Ibn Ezra.

WORD FIND

• balance, inner organ of: labyrinth

• bones of: anvil (incus), hammer (malleus), stirrup (stapes); ossicles

• deformity: cauliflower ear

• doctor: otologist

• earache: otalgia

• eardrum: tympanic membrane

• external portion: auricle, pinna

• hereditary disorder causing progressive deafness: otosclerosis

• instrument: otoscope

• nerve: auditory nerve

• nerve deafness: sensorineural deafness

• ringing in: tinnitus

• spiral inner cavity: cochlea

• study of: otology

• swimmer’s ear: otitis externa

• vestigial point: Darwin’s tubercle

• wax: cerumen whirling, dizzy sensation due to inner ear

• impairment: vertigo

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun The sense by which sound is perceived: audition, hearing. See SOUNDS.