mind's ear
UK/maɪndz‿ˈɪə//maɪndz‿ˈɪəɹ/
mind's ear noun: the mental faculty or inner sense with which one produces or reproduces imagined or recalled sounds solely within the mind; the supposed organ within the mind which experiences such sounds.
Noun
mind's ear (plural mind's ears or minds' ears or (less common) minds' ear)
- The mental faculty or inner sense with which one produces or reproduces imagined or recalled sounds solely within the mind; the supposed organ within the mind which experiences such sounds.
- The thinking Sculpture helps to raiſe / Deep thoughts, the Genii of the place: / To the minds ear, and invvard ſight, / There ſilence ſpeaks, and ſhade gives light: […]1732 (date written), Peter Drake [pseudonym; Matthew Green], The Grotto, a Poem. […], London: [s.n.], published 1733, →OCLC, page 5
- But, enough of this ſubject; for your angry voice at Aſhbourne upon it, ſtill ſounds avveful 'in my mind's ears.'1778 February 28 (date written), James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume II, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], published 1791, →OCLC, page 185
- Synonyms:
- inner ear
Examples of mind's ear in a sentence
- "I must read Shakspeare [i.e., William Shakespeare]?" / "You must have his spirit before you; you must hear his voice with your mind's ear; you must take some of his soul into yours."1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Coriolanus”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC...
- Even now I have in my mind's ears the merry gibe of some young rogue of a reader, […]1850 March, “My Aunt Nelly’s Portfolio”, in The Churchman’s Companion, volume VII, part XXXIX, London: Joseph Masters, […], →OCLC:
- Louis," but when I hear them in my mind's ear, hers [Peggy Lee's] is the voice I hear.2002 January 27, Terry Teachout, “A master and mentor in song”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN...
Synonyms of mind's ear
Forms of mind's ear
| plural | mind's ears |
|---|---|
| plural | minds' ears |
| plural uncommon | minds' ear |
Origin of mind's ear
From mind (noun) + -’s (possessive marker) + ear, probably modelled after mind’s eye.
Words that rhyme with mind's ear
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- spear
- career
- fear
- here
- steer
- appear
- cavalier
- cheer
- leer
- pioneer
- queer
- volunteer
- adhere
- beer
- chandelier
- deer
- financier
- pier
- premier
- privateer
- sheer
- veer
- vizier
- austere
- bombardier
- brigadier
- cashmere
- commandeer
- disappear
- endear
- grenadier
- interfere
- mere
- mountaineer
- peer
- sear
- tear
- tier
- unclear
- arrear
- bier
- blear
- cameleer
- cashier
- chiffonier
- cohere
- fakir
- farseer
Questions about mind's ear
- What does mind's ear mean?
- Mind's ear means the mental faculty or inner sense with which one produces or reproduces imagined or recalled sounds solely within the mind; the supposed organ within the mind which experiences such sounds.
- How do you use mind's ear in a sentence?
- "I must read Shakspeare [i.e., William Shakespeare]?" / "You must have his spirit before you; you must hear his voice with your mind's ear; you must take some of his soul into yours."
- What part of speech is mind's ear?
- Mind's ear is a noun.
- How do you pronounce mind's ear?
- Mind's ear is pronounced /maɪndz‿ˈɪə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of mind's ear?
- The plural of mind's ear is mind's ears.
Words near mind's ear in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: mind's ear (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-mind's ear.oga, En-au-mind's ear.ogg.
Cite this entry: “mind's ear.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/mind%27s_ear. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.