Popular Searches
on Ask.com
dumb down - 5 dictionary results
dumb
[duhm] 
adjective, -er, -est, verb –adjective
—Verb phrase| 1. | lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted. |
| 2. | lacking the power of speech (often offensive when applied to humans): a dumb animal. |
| 3. | temporarily unable to speak: dumb with astonishment. |
| 4. | refraining from any or much speech; silent. |
| 5. | made, done, etc., without speech. |
| 6. | lacking some usual property, characteristic, etc. |
| 7. | performed in pantomime; mimed. |
| 8. | Computers. pertaining to the inability to do processing locally: A dumb terminal can input, output, and display data, but cannot process it. Compare intelligent (def. 4). |
| 9. | Nautical.
|
| 10. | dumb down, Informal. to make or become less intellectual, simpler, or less sophisticated: to dumb down a textbook; American movies have dumbed down. |
Origin:
bef. 1000; OE; c. ON dumbr, Goth dumbs, OS dumb, OHG tump, G dumm
bef. 1000; OE; c. ON dumbr, Goth dumbs, OS dumb, OHG tump, G dumm
Related forms:
dumbly, adverb
dumbness, noun
Synonyms:
2, 3. Dumb, mute, speechless, voiceless describe a condition in which speech is absent. Dumb was formerly used to refer to persons unable to speak; it is now used almost entirely of the inability of animals to speak: dumb beasts of the field. The term mute is applied to persons who, usually because of congenital deafness, have never learned to talk: With training most mutes learn to speak well enough to be understood. Either of the foregoing terms or speechless may describe a temporary inability to speak, caused by emotion, etc.: dumb with amazement; mute with terror; left speechless by surprise. Voiceless means literally having no voice, either from natural causes or from injury: Turtles are voiceless. A laryngectomy leaves a person voiceless until he or she has learned esophageal speech.
2, 3. Dumb, mute, speechless, voiceless describe a condition in which speech is absent. Dumb was formerly used to refer to persons unable to speak; it is now used almost entirely of the inability of animals to speak: dumb beasts of the field. The term mute is applied to persons who, usually because of congenital deafness, have never learned to talk: With training most mutes learn to speak well enough to be understood. Either of the foregoing terms or speechless may describe a temporary inability to speak, caused by emotion, etc.: dumb with amazement; mute with terror; left speechless by surprise. Voiceless means literally having no voice, either from natural causes or from injury: Turtles are voiceless. A laryngectomy leaves a person voiceless until he or she has learned esophageal speech.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source
|
Link To dumb down
| dumb (dŭm) adj. dumb·er, dumb·est
To make silent or dumb. Phrasal Verb(s): dumb down/up Slang To rewrite for a less educated or less sophisticated audience. [Middle English, from Old English.] dumb'ly adv., dumb'ness n. Our Living Language : In ordinary spoken English, a sentence such as He is dumb will be interpreted to mean "He is stupid" rather than "He lacks the power of speech." "Lacking the power of speech" is, however, the original sense of the word, but it has been eclipsed by the meaning "stupid." For this change in meaning, it appears that the Germans are responsible. German has a similar and related word dumm that means "stupid," and over time, as a result of the waves of German immigrants to the United States, it has come to influence the meaning of English dumb. This is one of dozens of marks left by German on American English. Some words, like kindergarten, dachshund, and schnapps still have a German feel or are associated to some extent with Germany, but others, like bum, cookbook, fresh (in the meaning "impertinent"), rifle, and noodle have become so thoroughly Americanized their German origins may surprise some. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
| Main Entry: | dumb down1 |
| Part of Speech: | vt |
| Definition: | to prepare for a less intelligent audience; to make simpler or less difficult |
| Etymology: | 1933-38 |
| Usage: | slang; dumbed-down, adj; dumbing-down, n |
| Main Entry: | dumb down2 |
| Part of Speech: | vi |
| Definition: | to become less sophisticated or intellectual |
| Etymology: | 1933-38 |
| Usage: | slang; dumbed-down, adj; dumbing-down, n |
| Main Entry: | dumb down3 |
| Part of Speech: | vi |
| Definition: | to act less intelligent than one is |
| Etymology: | 1933-38 |
| Usage: | slang; dumbed-down, adj; dumbing-down, n |
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
