close-eared

adjective

Synonym of closed-back (“completely covering the ears”).

Meanings

adjectiveclose-eared (comparative more close-eared, superlative most close-eared)

comparative more close-eared · superlative most close-eared

  1. alternativeAlternative form of closed-eared (“reluctant or unwilling to listen to new styles of music; uninterested in listening to others”).

    I hope your^([sic]) not on that band wagon of close minded, close eared, and close eyed people.

    2003 January 31, T. Nguyen, “About Randall”, in alt.politics.democrat (Usenet)
    4 more examples

    I don't think I'm being close-minded (close-eared?). I'm just trying to get at the bottom of why Miles' later stuff doesn't work for me.

    1992 June 22, Joe Hellerstein, “Stanley Crouch on Miles Davis (was Tony Williams Interview)”, in rec.music.bluenote (Usenet)

    Let's just say that people on both sides of the Mackie isle get a little thick headed and close-eared at times.

    2001 November 14, Gabe Nahshon, “Mackie 1402VLZ”, in alt.audio.pro.live-sound (Usenet)

    Well it depends. Listen to Vince on many "Days Between" and that's stuff Brent' never came close to. And anybody who says Vince has no talent is just being close eared.

    2004 February 19, Wondering Fool, “does Vince suck or what?!?”, in rec.music.gdead (Usenet)

    That's enough for some. People get all tense and close-eared at the thought that their favorite candidate (from either party) is less than perfect, or that the people attacking the other side might be less than perfect also.

    2004 August 29, LawsonE, “Why doesn't Kerry mention his book "The new soldier"?”, in alt.meditation.transcendental (Usenet)
  2. Synonym of closed-back (“completely covering the ears”).

    Better yet, bring your own music and headphones. I prefer the close-eared type.

    1999 December 25, urfos, “MARTA and radios”, in atl.general (Usenet)
    2 more examples

    Ok, I need to amend my previous post about headphones. There are a pair of sony's^([sic]) offered that retail for around $60. They are NOT close-eared (i.e. do not cover the whole ear). These were the one's^([sic]) I tried and hated.

    1999 December 20, Balt4house, “Playing DVD Movies In Flight - Your Experiences?”, in rec.travel.air (Usenet)

    My friend gave me a pair of Sony MDR-CD180 headphones that are close-eared (completely cover your outer ear). They're not professional headphones, but they get the job done.

    2001 February 9, beethovenjunior, “High isolation headphones?”, in rec.music.makers.percussion (Usenet)

    Synonyms: closed-back

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSynonym of closed-back (“completely covering the ears”).

Also see
Cite this entry
APA

close-eared. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/close-eared

MLA

“close-eared.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/close-eared. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “close-eared,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/close-eared.

Source: close-eared on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.