dumb

[ duhm ]

/ dʌm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dumb ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, dumb·er, dumb·est.

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.

Verb Phrases

dumb down, Informal. to make or become less intellectual, simpler, or less sophisticated: to dumb down a textbook; American movies have dumbed down.

RELATED WORDS

dully

Nearby words

dumaguete, dumas, dumas père, dumas, alexandre, dumas, jean baptiste andré, dumb, dumb ague, dumb barter, dumb bid, dumb bunny, dumb cane

Origin of dumb

before 1000; Old English; cognate with Old Norse dumbr, Gothic dumbs, Old Saxon dumb, Old High German tump, German dumm

Related formsdumb·ly, adverbdumb·ness, nounqua·si-dumb, adjectivequa·si-dumb·ly, adverb

Usage note

Dumb in the sense “lacking the power of speech” is perceived as insulting when describing humans (but not animals), probably because dumb also means “stupid; dull-witted.” The noun dummy in the sense “person who lacks the power of speech” is also perceived as insulting, as are the terms deaf-and-dumb, deaf-mute, and mute. The adjective hearing-impaired is acceptable though not the term of choice, partly because it lacks directness. The preferred term is deaf, which makes no reference to an inability to speak or communicate; the capitalized Deaf signals membership in this community.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dumbly

I dumbly mentioned it and it was obviously done in a joking manner, but everyone was like, “So, did you collect on the bet?”
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill on ‘22 Jump Street,’ Penis Kissing, and Julie Andrews’s Boobs|Kevin Fallon|June 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her head drooped; she made no reply; she waited, dumbly obedient to the firmer will than her own.
The New Magdalen|Wilkie Collins
He was aghast; no words can give, at all, any idea of how dumbly aghast he was.
The Golden Scarecrow|Hugh Walpole
He was dumbly exasperated, the more so perhaps in that he divined that to one cleverer than he no obstacle would exist.
A Transient Guest|Edgar Saltus

I stood there, as if glued to the floor and could only gaze at her dumbly and appealingly.
An Anarchist Woman|Hutchins Hapgood
He told himself, dumbly, that if the world would ever listen to Mirabelle, it would certainly reform.
Rope|Holworthy Hall

British Dictionary definitions for dumbly

dumb

/ (dʌm) /

adjective

lacking the power to speak, either because of defects in the vocal organs or because of hereditary deafness

lacking the power of human speechdumb animals

temporarily lacking or bereft of the power to speakstruck dumb

refraining from speech; uncommunicative

producing no sound; silenta dumb piano

made, done, or performed without speech

informal

slow to understand; dim-witted
foolish; stupidSee also dumb down

(of a projectile or bomb) not guided to its target

Derived Formsdumbly, adverbdumbness, noun

Word Origin for dumb

Old English; related to Old Norse dumbr, Gothic dumbs, Old High German tump

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