dumb

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dumb

(dŭm)

adj. dumb·er, dumb·est

a. Lacking the power of speech. Used of animals and inanimate objects.

b. Offensive Incapable of using speech; mute. Used of humans. See Usage Note at mute.

2. Temporarily speechless, as with shock or fear: I was dumb with disbelief.

3. Unwilling to speak; taciturn.

4. Not expressed or articulated in sounds or words: dumb resentment.

5. Nautical Not self-propelling.

6. Conspicuously unintelligent; stupid: dumb officials; a dumb decision.

7. Unintentional; haphazard: dumb luck.

tr.v. dumbed, dumb·ing, dumbs

To make silent or dumb.

Phrasal Verb:

dumb down (or up)

Slang To rewrite for a less educated or less sophisticated audience.

[Middle English, from Old English.]

dumb′ly adv.

dumb′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dumb

(dʌm)

adj

1. lacking the power of human speech: dumb animals.

2. (Pathology) offensive lacking the power to speak, either because of defects in the vocal organs or because of hereditary deafness

3. temporarily lacking or bereft of the power to speak: struck dumb.

4. refraining from speech; uncommunicative

5. producing no sound; silent: a dumb piano.

6. made, done, or performed without speech

7. informal

a. slow to understand; dim-witted

b. foolish; stupid. See also dumb down

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

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

ˈdumbly adv

ˈdumbness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dumb

(dʌm)

adj. -er, -est,
v.

usage: dumb in the sense “lacking the power of speech” is offensive when applied to humans (but not animals), probably because the word also means “stupid; dull-witted.” The noun dummy in the sense “a person who lacks the power of speech,” though rarely used today, is also perceived as offensive, as are the terms deaf-and-dumb and deaf-mute. Use of the term mute is generally acceptable. However, the preferred term is deaf, which makes no reference to an inability to speak.

—adj.

1. lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted.

2. lacking the power of speech (offensive when applied to humans): dumb beasts of the field.

3. temporarily unable to speak: She was struck dumb with amazement.

4. refraining from speech; silent.

5. made, done, etc., without speech.

6. lacking some usual property, characteristic, etc.

7. lacking electronic processing power of its own: a dumb computer terminal. Compare intelligent (def. 4).

8. dumb down, to reduce the intellectual or developmental level of: to dumb down a textbook.

[before 1000; Old English; c. Old High German tump, Old Norse dumbr]

dumb′ly, adv.

dumb′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	dumb - slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity; "so dense he never understands anything I say to him"; "never met anyone quite so dim"; "although dull at classical learning, at mathematics he was uncommonly quick"- Thackeray; "dumb officials make some really dumb decisions"; "he was either normally stupid or being deliberately obtuse"; "worked with the slow students" slow, obtuse, dense, dim, dull stupid - lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
	2.	dumb - temporarily incapable of speaking; "struck dumb"; "speechless with shock" speechless inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry"
	3.	dumb - lacking the power of human speech; "dumb animals" inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry"
	4.	dumb - unable to speak because of hereditary deafness mute, silent inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry"

dumb

adjective

1. unable to speak, mute, without the power of speech a young deaf and dumb man
unable to speak articulate

2. silent, mute, speechless, inarticulate, tongue-tied, wordless, voiceless, soundless, at a loss for words, mum We were all struck dumb for a minute.

3. (Informal) stupid, thick, dull, foolish, dense, dozy (Brit. informal), dim, obtuse, unintelligent, asinine, braindead (informal), dim-witted (informal) I came up with this dumb idea.
stupid bright, smart, clever, intelligent, quick-witted

dumb something down trivialize, sensationalize, make shallow, make superficial, make trivial, make frivolous, make less intelligent I know it must be tempting to dumb down news.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

dumb

adjective

1. Lacking the power or faculty of speech:

aphonic, inarticulate, mute, speechless, voiceless.

2. Temporarily unable or unwilling to speak, as from shock or fear:

inarticulate, mum, mute, silent, speechless, voiceless, wordless.

3. Lacking in intelligence:

blockheaded, dense, doltish, hebetudinous, obtuse, stupid, thickheaded, thick-witted.

Informal: thick.

Slang: dimwitted, dopey.

Translations

أبْكَمسَخيفصامِت

němýpitomýmlčenlivý

stumtåbeligåndssvagdumstille

stumm bescheuert blöd dumm idiotisch

ηλίθιος μουγγός

mudo tonto estúpido zonzo sonso

mykkätyperäidioottimainen

muet bête abruti muette stupide

nijem

hülyenémaostoba

dumbur, mállausheimskulegur, heimskuròögull

muto stupido ammutolito muta scemo

口のきけない

말을 못하는

kvailainė žodžio netariantnebylumasnebylysnetekęs žado

deaf and dumbkurlmēmsmēmsmuļķīgsnerunīgs

stom dom

stum tåpelig taus umælende idiotisk

niemy

mudo muda

немой тупой бессловесный глупый

nemneumen

stumkorkadmeningslös

โง่

dilsiz sessizsusmuşaptal budala

câm

哑的愚蠢的无声的不能说话的

dumb

[dʌm] ADJ (dumber (compar) (dumbest (superl)))

1. (Med) → mudo; (with surprise etc) → sin habla
a dumb person → un mudo
to become dumb → quedar mudo
she's deaf and dumb → es sordomuda
dumb animals → animales mpl indefensos
the dumb millions → los millones que no tienen voz
to be struck dumb (fig) → quedarse sin habla

2. (= stupid) → tonto, bobo
to act dumb → hacerse el tonto
don't be so dumb! → ¡no seas tonto or bobo!
that was a really dumb thing I did! → ¡lo que hice fue una verdadera tontería or bobada!
he says some dumb things → ¡dice cada tontería or bobada!
dumb blonde → rubia f descerebrada or sin seso
as dumb as an ox → más bruto que un arado

dumb down VT + ADV → embrutecer, empobrecer intelectualmente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dumb

[ˈdʌm] adj

(= unable to speak) → muet(te)
She's deaf and dumb → Elle est sourde-muette.
to be struck dumb (fig) → rester abasourdi(e), être sidéré(e)

(= stupid) [person] → bête; [idea] → stupide
That was a really dumb thing I did! → C'était vraiment stupide de ma part!

dumb down

vt sep [+ programme] → niveler par le bas; [+ culture, education] → niveler par le basdumb-bell dumbbell [ˈdʌmbɛl] n → haltère m

dumb

adj (+er)

(= mute) → stumm; (= silent, speechless) → sprachlos; (liter: = silent) rage, recognition → wortlos, stumm; dumb animals → (unsere stummen Freunde,) die Tiere; she was struck dumb (fig) → es verschlug ihr die Sprache; she was struck dumb with fear/shock → die Angst/der Schock verschlug ihr die Sprache; he was in a dumb rage → er war stumm vor Wut; don’t give me that dumb insolence! → sieh mich nicht so unverschämt an!

(esp US inf: = stupid) → dumm, doof (inf); that was a dumb thing to do/say → wie kann man nur so etwas Dummes machen/sagen!; he did one dumb thing after another → er machte eine Dummheit nach der anderen; to act or play dumb → sich dumm stellen

dumb

dumbass

n (US sl) → Idiot m (inf), → Nullchecker(in) m(f) (inf)

dumbbell

n (Sport) → Hantel f

dumb blonde

n (pej inf) → dümmliche Blondine f (pej)

dumb cluck

n (inf: = fool) → Doofi m (inf)

dumb

dumb show

n (Theat) pantomimische Einlage in einem Stück; in dumb → in Mimik

dumb terminal

n (Comput) → Einfachterminal nt, → unintelligente Datenstation

dumb waiter

n → Speiseaufzug m; (= trolley) → Serviertisch m, → stummer Diener

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dumb

[dʌm] adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl)))

a. (Med) → muto/a; (with surprise) → senza parole, ammutolito/a
a dumb person → un(a) muto/a
dumb animals → gli animali
to be struck dumb (fig) → restare senza parole, ammutolire

b. (fam) (stupid) → stupido/a
to act dumb → fare lo gnorri
a dumb blonde → una bionda svampita

dumb

(dam) adjective

1. without the power of speech. She was born deaf and dumb; We were struck dumb with astonishment.

2. silent. On this point he was dumb.

3. (especially American) very stupid. What a dumb thing to do!

ˈdumbness noun

ˈdumbly adverb

dumb

→ أبْكَم němý stum stumm μουγγός mudo mykkä muet nijem muto 口のきけない 말을 못하는 stom stum niemy mudo немой stum โง่ dilsiz câm 哑的

dumb

a. mudo-a; torpe, estúpido-a.

dumb

adj (ant, mute) mudo

References in classic literature ?

When that feller trod on his hand, he up an' sed that he was willin' t' give his hand t' his country, but he be dumbed if he was goin' t' have every dumb bushwhacker in th' kentry walkin' 'round on it.

View in context

So, know it or not, they too are being subtly or not so subtly dumbed down-along with everybody else.

From dumbing down to brightening up

Summary: School league tables, A-levels and GCSEs would be radically overhauled under Tory plans to toughen up the "dumbed down" education system.