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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dumb in a sentence
I will not take these dumb boots off and watch my feet swell until they look like novelty slippers.
Okay, so maybe we don’t miss everything about holiday travel | Liz Langley | December 18, 2020 | Washington PostStill snuggled in your warm bed, you’ll have no reason to reflect that reclining seats are the dumbest airline invention since middle seats.
Okay, so maybe we don’t miss everything about holiday travel | Liz Langley | December 18, 2020 | Washington PostWhile that was a hyper-aggressive play call by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams — and a dumb one, since it put single coverage on the only deep weapon the Raiders really have in Henry Ruggs — they played well enough to win all game.
Are The Jets Tanking, Or Are They Just This Bad? | Sara Ziegler (sara.ziegler@fivethirtyeight.com) | December 7, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightIt would have blown my mind—and sounded like the dumbest idea ever.
Most ideas are dumb, and we and everyone else have every right to point that out.
This is not dumbness, or denseness, or illiteracy, but belligerent unenlightenment.
Not to be outdone in collective dumbness, the smart people at Daimler had paid $36 billion for Chrysler in 1998.
In absolute dumbness Stanton and Cornelia sat listening until the horrid sound died away.
Molly Make-Believe | Eleanor Hallowell AbbottAt Oxford Circus they got out, and left me pondering on deafness and dumbness.
A Boswell of Baghdad | E. V. LucasThis dumbness does not mean that his mouth was silent and did not utter a word, for he prophesied in chapters xxv-xxxii.
The Prophet Ezekiel | Arno C. GaebeleinHe knew so well, how many thousands of times had he seen, that same look of questioning, pitiful in its dumbness.
The Imaginary Marriage | Henry St. John CooperThe stealing out had been fun, but with the freedom of the tops the sense of conspiracy ceased, and gave place to dumbness.
The Forsyte Saga, Volume III. | John Galsworthy
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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