tuning out
Mentally checking out
Tuning out is deliberately or unconsciously disengaging attention from something—a speaker, a conversation, background noise.
The metaphor comes from radio: you tune out a station by adjusting away from its frequency.
I realized halfway through the meeting I'd been tuning out completely.
The opposite of tuning in.
- ignoringDeliberately not noticing
- not listeningFailing to attend
- daydreamingIdle mental wandering
- inattentivenessLack of focused awareness
- distractionThing diverting one's attention
glazed over · blank stare · habituation · miles away · apathy · sensory adaptation · selective attention · in one ear · desensitization · disengagement · indifference · dismissing · suppression · disregard · disconnection · autopilot · elsewhere · detachment
- absent-mindednessabsent-minded, forgetfulness, distraction, daydreaming, inattentiveness
- boredomboredom, ennui, tedium, monotony, dullness
- inattentiondistracted, spacing, absent-minded, distraction, obliviousness
- mental lapseslapse, forget, slip, misplace, overlook
- brush-offsbrush off, brush-off, cold shoulder, ignore, snub
- detachmentemotional numbness, detached, dispassion, disengaged, indifference
tuning outtuning in
Adjusting to receive signal
paying attention · focusing · concentrating · engaging · locking in
tuning outlistening
Attending to sound
heeding · active listening · taking in · lending an ear · taking heed
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