dunce cap

American  

Or dunce's cap

noun

1. a tall, cone-shaped hat formerly worn by slow or lazy students as a punishment in school.

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dunce cap British  

noun

1. a conical paper hat, formerly placed on the head of a dull child at school

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Etymology

Origin of dunce cap

First recorded in 1830–40

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dunce cap

If you do think that he could, please step forward and claim your complimentary dunce cap, and infuse it with your own naivete.

From Salon ● May 5, 2023

So Yandy gets points for trying to make it desirable by combining a striped road-cone-colored poncho with a mini dunce cap, an ensemble called the Candy Corn Cutie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2020

If Lamont lets this deteriorate further, he may find he’s wearing the dunce cap in the corner for letting his prized project fall apart.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 25, 2020

Xi’s father was purged, and Xi was sent to the countryside, forced to dig trenches and wear a metal dunce cap.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 28, 2019

Sammy plopped the dunce cap on top of his jockey cap.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

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