dumb
lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted.
lacking the power of speech (offensive when applied to humans): a dumb animal.
temporarily unable to speak: dumb with astonishment.
refraining from any or much speech; silent.
made, done, etc., without speech.
lacking some usual property, characteristic, etc.
performed in pantomime; mimed.
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).
Nautical.
(of a barge) without means of propulsion.
(of any craft) without means of propulsion, steering, or signaling.
dumb down, Informal. to make or become less intellectual, simpler, or less sophisticated: to dumb down a textbook; American movies have dumbed down.
Origin of dumb
1usage note For dumb
Other words from dumb
- dumb·ly, adverb
- dumb·ness, noun
- qua·si-dumb, adjective
- qua·si-dumb·ly, adverb
Words Nearby dumb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dumb in a sentence
Law enforcement really just said, “You know, this is a dumb woman, and she’s the only one that got screwed over, and it’s just not that important.”
“People want to believe”: How Love Fraud builds an absorbing docuseries around a romantic con man | Alissa Wilkinson | September 4, 2020 | VoxIt seems dumb to walk away from something I’m relatively successful at when I’m not qualified to do anything else, especially right now.
Social Media Feels Increasingly Toxic. What Do I Do? | Blair Braverman | August 29, 2020 | Outside OnlineIn some ways, paintings portraits is really dumb and painting portraits of hundreds of people is ridiculous.
A Closer Look at the Public Art at Chicago Police Stations | by Logan Jaffe | August 21, 2020 | ProPublicaThe dumbest way ever to secretly benefit a campaign contributor is to buy a building with that contributor’s name on it.
How the City Came to Lease a Lemon | Lisa Halverstadt and Jesse Marx | August 10, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoYou’ll probably think this question is dumber than dumb, a waste of neurons.
Does the President Matter as Much as You Think? (Ep. 404) | Stephen J. Dubner | February 6, 2020 | Freakonomics
However, not all awful, astoundingly dumb political memes are created equal.
Political Memes That Absolutely Must Die in 2015 | Asawin Suebsaeng | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“Which proves he is as dumb as a bag of hammers,” the official says.
Does it matter whether Taylor Swift wants me to inflate my Internet notoriety by doing a dumb thing where I lip sync to her music?
Death of the Author by Viral Infection: In Defense of Taylor Swift, Digital Doomsayer | Arthur Chu | December 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe way I film is based on the assumption that the audience is as smart and dumb as I am.
Inside The Secret World of London’s National Gallery | Tim Teeman | November 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI thought I was going to have to dumb it down for this folk-pop singer.
The sound of my step shall make your heart jump; a look from me shall make you dumb for an hour.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuHer female friend immediately said, "Well, I have been talking away to this dumb man."
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousSometimes dumb-bells, compact sheaves of fine needles, and irregular rhizome forms are seen (Fig. 40).
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThey ain't noways dumb to each other, I notice; an' we air dumb aourselves when we air ketched with furriners.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonHis watchmen are all blind, they are all ignorant: dumb dogs not able to bark, seeing vain things, sleeping and loving dreams.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
British Dictionary definitions for dumb
/ (dʌm) /
lacking the power to speak, either because of defects in the vocal organs or because of hereditary deafness
lacking the power of human speech: dumb animals
temporarily lacking or bereft of the power to speak: struck dumb
refraining from speech; uncommunicative
producing no sound; silent: a dumb piano
made, done, or performed without speech
informal
slow to understand; dim-witted
foolish; stupid: See also dumb down
(of a projectile or bomb) not guided to its target
Origin of dumb
1Derived forms of dumb
- dumbly, adverb
- dumbness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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