dunce

American  

[duhns] / dʌns /

noun

1. a dull-witted, stupid, or ignorant person; dolt.

   Synonyms:

   ninny, nincompoop, simpleton, ignoramus, blockhead, numbskull, dullard

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dunce British  

/ dʌns /

noun

1. a person who is stupid or slow to learn

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Other Word Forms

• duncelike adjective
• duncical adjective
• duncish adjective
• duncishly adverb

Etymology

Origin of dunce

1520–30; after John Duns Scotus, whose writings were attacked by the humanists as foolish

Explanation

A dunce is a dummy — someone who isn't smart. You might be tempted to call your little brother a dunce when he walks out the door with his shoes on the wrong feet. It's not nice to call someone a dunce, though you might call yourself one when you study the wrong chapter before a big history test or get pulled over for yet another speeding ticket. The word dunce comes from a thirteenth century Scottish philosopher, John Duns Scotus, whose resistance to new ideas and mystical beliefs inspired opponents to equate his followers, the "Duns disciples," to "dullards." Later, some teachers made children wear pointed paper "dunce caps" when they misbehaved.

Example Sentences

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

But dunce caps aside, the irony is that Xi’s critique of Big Tech is similar to recent debates in the United States.

From Washington Post • Nov. 9, 2021

Come December, the predictor will either be wearing a dunce cap or a genius cap.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 2, 2021

In my view, the biggest mistake scientists make is to claim that this is all somehow simple and therefore to imply that anyone who doesn't get it is a dunce.

From Scientific American • Jul. 8, 2021

The high hairdo towered over her thin face like dunce cap, the white-blond hair utterly incongruous with her olive skin.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Related Words

• clodpoll