stupid, dull, dense, crass, dumb mean lacking in power to absorb ideas or impressions. stupid implies a slow-witted or dazed state of mind that may be either congenital or temporary.
DUMB definition: lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted. See examples of dumb used in a sentence.
DUMB definition: 1. unable to speak: 2. temporarily unable to speak, for example because you are very surprised or…. Learn more.
usage: dumb in the sense “lacking the power of speech” is offensive when applied to humans (but not animals), probably because the word also means “stupid; dull-witted.”
From Middle English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, ineffectual”), from Old English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, unable to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *dumb, from Proto-Germanic *dumbaz (“dull, dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”).
Definition of dumb adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
We were all struck dumb for a minute. If you call a person dumb, you mean that they are stupid or foolish. The questions were set up to make her look dumb. If you say that something is dumb, you think that it is silly and annoying. I came up with this dumb idea. Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers.
dumb down, to revise to appeal or be understandable to less intelligent people; lower the intellectual content of: to dumb down a textbook; the dumbing down of American movies.
dumb definition: lacking intelligence or good judgment. Check meanings, examples, usage tips, pronunciation, domains, and related words. Discover expressions like "dumb down", "act dumb", "dumb luck".