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Question

He turned a deaf ear to my request. What does the underlined phrasal verb mean?

The correct answer is

ignored

Phrasal Verb: Understanding 'Turned a Deaf Ear To'

The question asks for the meaning of the underlined phrasal verb "turned a deaf ear to" in the sentence "He turned a deaf ear to my request." This phrase is an idiom, which means its meaning cannot be understood simply by looking at the individual words.

Meaning of 'Turned a Deaf Ear To'

  • When someone "turns a deaf ear to" something, it means they deliberately choose not to listen or pay attention to it.
  • It implies a conscious decision to disregard a request, advice, or warning, acting as if they cannot hear it or are unwilling to hear it.
  • The core meaning is to refuse to listen or to simply ignore.

Analyzing the Options

Let's examine each option provided to determine the correct meaning of the phrasal verb "turned a deaf ear to":

  • Ignored: This option directly aligns with the meaning of "turned a deaf ear to." If someone ignores a request, they pay no attention to it, just as someone who turns a deaf ear to it.
  • Appreciated: This word means to recognize the full worth of something or to be grateful for it. This is the opposite of ignoring something; therefore, it is incorrect.
  • Twisted: This word means to bend or distort something. It has no relevance to the meaning of not listening or ignoring a request, making it an incorrect option.
  • Returned: This word means to come or go back to a place or person, or to give, send, or put something back. This meaning is completely unrelated to the phrasal verb in question, making it incorrect.

Contextual Example

Consider another example to solidify the understanding: "The children turned a deaf ear to their parents' calls to come inside, continuing to play in the garden." This sentence clearly illustrates that the children ignored their parents' calls.

Based on the analysis, the phrasal verb "turned a deaf ear to" means to ignore. Thus, "ignored" is the correct interpretation of the phrasal verb.

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Important Questions from Verbal Deduction

  1. Lamenting the gradual sidelining of the arts in school curricula, a goup of prominent artists wrote to the Chief Minister last year, asking him to allocate more funds to support arts education in schools. However, no such increase has been announced in this year`s Budget. The artists expressed their deep anguish at their request not being approved, but many of them remain optimistic about funding in the future.

    Which of the statement(s) below is/are logically valid and can be inferred from the above statements?

    (i) The artists expected funding for the arts to increase this year.

    (ii) The Chief Minister was receptive to the idea of increasing funding for the arts.

    (iii) The Chief Minister is a prominent artist.

    (iv) Schools are giving less importance to arts education nowadays,
  2. Read the following paragraph and choose the correct statement.

    Climate change has reduced human security and threatened human wellbeing. An ignored reality of human progress is that human security largely depends upon environmental security. But on the contrary, human progress seems contradictory to environmental security. To keep up both at the required level is a challenge to be addressed by one and all. One of the ways to curb the climate change may be suitable scientific innovations, while the other may be the Gandhian perspective on

    Small scale progress with focus on sustainability.
  3. Choose the most appropriate phrase from the options given below to complete the following sentence.

    The aircraft_______ take off as soon as its flight plan was filed.

  4. Once the team of analysts identifies the problem, we _________ in a better position to comment on the issue.
    Which one of the following choices CANNOT fill the given blank? 

  5. “If you are looking for a history of India, or for an account of the rise and fall of the British Raj, or for the reason of the cleaving the subcontinent into two mutually antagonistic parts and the effects this mutilation will have in the respective sections, and ultimately on Asia, you will to find it in these pages; for though I have spent a lifetime in the country, I lived too near the seat of events, and was too intimately associated with the actors, to get the perspective needed for the impartial recording of these matters.”

    Which of the following is closest in meaning to ‘cleaving’?
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