dunce
- a dull-witted, stupid, or ignorant person; dolt.
Origin of dunce
Synonyms for dunce
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for dunce
ass, donkey, twit, blockhead, pinhead, lightweight, nerd, dolt, bonehead, oaf, half-wit, idiot, nitwit, buffoon, moron, nincompoop, fool, goof, jerk, dullardExamples from the Web for dunce
Contemporary Examples of dunce
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 of dunce
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
Word Origin for dunce
Word Origin and History for dunce
"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.