dunce
Use Dunce in a sentence
noun
a dull-witted, stupid, or ignorant person; dolt.
Related forms
dun·ci·cal, dunc·ish, adjective
dunc·ish·ly, adverb
Synonyms
dullard, numbskull, blockhead, ignoramus, simpleton, nincompoop, ninny.
dullard, numbskull, blockhead, ignoramus, simpleton, nincompoop, ninny.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To dunce
Collins
World English Dictionary
dunce (dʌns) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| a person who is stupid or slow to learn | |
| [C16: from Dunses or Dunsmen, term of ridicule applied to the followers of John | |
| 'duncelike | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Dunce
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
dunce
1577, from earlier Duns disciple "follower of John Duns Scotus" (c. 1265-1308), Scot. scholar of philosophy and theology supposed to have been born at Duns in Berwickshire. By 16c., humanist reaction against medieval theology singled him out as the type of the hairsplitting scholastic. It became a term
of reproach to more conservative philosophical opponents c.1527, later extended to any dull-witted student.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
It amused him to claim that he was a financial dunce, uninterested in such matters as debt-to-equity ratios.
SA should be given a dunce cap and made to sit in the corner.
He's right, you don't have to be a genius--you have to be a dunce.
If you're a dunce itself, you'd have a right to know that larceny's robbing and stealing.
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