tin-eared en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree English tin ear Old English -ed Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Germanic *-ōdaz Old English -od Middle English -ed English -ed English tin-eared From tin ear + -ed.
Meanings
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Having a tin ear; tone-deaf.
But Trump’s pursuit of his political vendettas in a presidency increasingly revolving around personal goals, expensive legacy projects and tin-eared economic messaging is going to cause a headache for the GOP.
2026 May 18, Stephen Collinson, “Trump’s vendettas deliver, but at what cost to the GOP?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 May 2026:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most tin-eared | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more tin-eared | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |