hearing

/hɪərɪŋ/

/ˈhɪərɪŋ/

Other forms: hearings

Hearing is the sense that allows you to distinguish sounds with your ears. Dogs have a particularly acute sense of hearing, and they can hear sounds pitched too high for humans to hear.

You use your hearing when you attend a concert, listen to an audio book, or talk to a friend on the phone. Another kind of hearing is a legal process at which people state a case in front of a judge, so she can decide whether or not it should be presented at a trial with a jury. This kind of hearing gets its name from the idea that the court is "listening" to the evidence.

Definitions of hearing

1. noun

   the ability to hear; the auditory faculty
   “his hearing was impaired”

   synonyms: audition, auditory modality, auditory sense, sense of hearing

   types:

   ear

   good hearing

   absolute pitch, perfect pitch

   the ability to identify the pitch of a tone

   type of:

   modality, sense modality, sensory system

   a particular sense

   exteroception

   sensitivity to stimuli originating outside of the body
2. noun

   the range within which a voice can be heard
   synonyms: earreach, earshot

   type of:

   range, reach

   the limits within which something can be effective
3. noun

   the act of hearing attentively
   “they make good music--you should give them a hearing”

   synonyms: listening

   types:

   auscultation

   listening to sounds within the body (usually with a stethoscope)

   rehearing, relistening

   the act of hearing again

   percussion, pleximetry

   tapping a part of the body for diagnostic purposes

   succussion

   shaking a person to determine whether a large amount of liquid is present in a body cavity

   type of:

   perception, sensing

   becoming aware of something via the senses
4. adjective

   able to perceive sound
   synonyms:

   quick-eared, sharp-eared

   having keen hearing

   antonyms:

   deaf

   lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part

   deaf-and-dumb, deaf-mute

   lacking the sense of hearing and the ability to speak

   deafened

   caused to hear poorly or not at all

   hard-of-hearing, hearing-impaired

   having a hearing loss

   deaf as a post, profoundly deaf, stone-deaf, unhearing

   totally deaf; unable to hear anything

   tone-deaf

   unable to appreciate music
5. noun

   (law) a proceeding (usually by a court) where evidence is taken for the purpose of determining an issue of fact and reaching a decision based on that evidence
   types:

   administrative hearing

   a hearing that takes place outside the judicial process before hearing examiners who have been granted judicial authority specifically for the purpose of conducting such hearings

   competence hearing

   a hearing to determine legal capacity (to determine whether the defendant can understand the charges and cooperate with a lawyer in preparing a defense)

   fair hearing

   a hearing that is granted in extraordinary situations where the normal judicial process would be inadequate to secure due process because the person would be harmed or denied their rights before a judicial remedy became available (as in deportation or loss of welfare benefits)

   quo warranto

   a hearing to determine by what authority someone has an office or franchise or liberty

   type of:

   legal proceeding, proceeding, proceedings

   (law) the institution of a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked
6. noun

   a session (of a committee or grand jury) in which witnesses are called and testimony is taken
   “the investigative committee will hold hearings in Chicago”

   types:

   confirmation hearing

   a hearing held by the US Senate to gather information on whether to approve or reject candidates for high federal office who are nominated by the president

   type of:

   session

   a meeting for execution of a group's functions
7. noun

   an opportunity to state your case and be heard
   “they condemned him without a hearing”

   synonyms: audience

   type of:

   chance, opportunity

   a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances