Although chronic viral infections have evolved mechanisms to interfere with aspects of pathogen recognition by dendritic cells (DCs), the role that these APCs play in virus-specific T cell exhaustion is unclear. Herein we report that NS3-dependent suppression of Toll/IL-1 domain-containing adapter-inducing IFN-β–and IFN-β promoter stimulator-1–but not MyD88-coupled pathogen-recognition receptor–induced synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-12 and TNF-α) from DCs by hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a distinctive feature of a subgroup of chronically infected patients. The result is decreased CD8+ T cell polyfunctional capacities (production of IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α, and CD107a mobilization) that is confined to HCV specificities and that relates to the extent to which HCV inhibits DC responses in infected subjects, despite comparable plasma viral load, helper T cell environments, and inhibitory programmed death 1 receptor/ligand signals. Thus, subjects in whom pathogen-recognition receptor signaling in DCs was intact exhibited enhanced polyfunctionality (ie, IL-2-secretion and CD107a). In addition, differences between HCV-infected patients in the ability of CD8+ T cells to activate multiple functions in response to HCV did not apply to CD8+ T cells specific for other immune-controlled viruses (CMV, EBV, and influenza). Our findings identify reversible virus evasion of DC-mediated innate immunity as an additional important factor that impacts the severity of polyfunctional CD8+ T cell exhaustion during a chronic viral infection.