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dumb down

British  

verb

  1. (tr) to make or become less intellectually demanding or sophisticated

    attempts to dumb down news coverage

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was derided as a snob when he suggested, in a few statements over the years, that he had to dumb down his work for uncultured audiences.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

"I don't think we should try to dumb down golf to appeal to more people," he said.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2025

This might sound rough, but it’s how I feel: Whoever decided to dumb down the audience did a really good job.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 30, 2023

In a lot of ways memes dumb down stuff, but conceptually I love what they have brought to our lives.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2020

I wondered if she was ignoring my question or simply weighing how best to dumb down the answer.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

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