dunce
[duhns]
- a dull-witted, stupid, or ignorant person; dolt.
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Origin of dunce
1520–30; after John Duns Scotus, whose writings were attacked by the humanists as foolish
Synonyms
See more synonyms for dunce on Thesaurus.comdullard, numbskull, blockhead, ignoramus, simpleton, nincompoop, ninny.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dunce
Contemporary Examples
But such branding ostracizes that behavior, like the film should be forced to wear a dunce cap and publicly shamed in the corner.
Like the pursuit, there are four stops for shooting, but in lieu of a Dunce Lap each miss adds a full minute to your total time.
If you miss you have to hit the 150m penalty loop, or as I like to call it, the Dunce Lap.
There are two shooting stops, one prone, one standing, Dunce Lap penalty for misses.
The penalty for a miss is the same as in the sprint (Dunce Lap).
Historical Examples
Fowell learnt very little at school, and was regarded as a dunce and an idler.
Self-HelpSamuel Smiles
He was long described by his Spartan mother, who thought him a dunce, as only ‘food for powder.’
Self-HelpSamuel Smiles
The world's a father to a Dunce unknown, And much he thrives, for Dulness!
An Essay on Satire, Particularly on the DunciadWalter Harte
A fool, a dunce, or a bad man does harm and not good in the world.
The Bad Family and Other StoriesMrs. Fenwick
After all, Harry was no dunce, but he was not yet convinced.
'Charge It'Irving Bacheller
dunce
- a person who is stupid or slow to learn
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Word Origin
C16: from Dunses or Dunsmen, term of ridicule applied to the followers of John Duns Scotus, especially by 16th-century humanists
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
Word Origin and History for dunce
n.
"dullard," 1570s, from earlier Duns disciple "follower of John Duns Scotus" (c.1265-1308), Scottish scholar of philosophy and theology supposed to have been born at Duns in Berwickshire. By 16c., humanist reaction against medieval theology singled him out as the type of the hairsplitting scholastic. It became a general term of reproach applied to more conservative philosophical opponents by 1520s, later extended to any dull-witted student.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper