dumb
[ duhm ]
/ dʌm /
adjective, dumb·er, dumb·est.
Verb Phrases
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
before 1000; Old English; cognate with Old Norse
dumbr, Gothic
dumbs, Old Saxon
dumb, Old High German
tump, German
dumm
usage note for dumb
Dumb in the sense “lacking the power of speech” is perceived as insulting when describing humans (but not animals), probably because
dumb also means “stupid; dull-witted.” The noun
dummy in the sense “person who lacks the power of speech” is also perceived as insulting, as are the terms
deaf-and-dumb,
deaf-mute, and
mute. The adjective
hearing-impaired is acceptable though not the term of choice, partly because it lacks directness. The preferred term is
deaf, which makes no reference to an inability to speak or communicate; the capitalized
Deaf signals membership in this community.
OTHER WORDS FROM dumb
dumb·ly, adverb dumb·ness, noun qua·si-dumb, adjective qua·si-dumb·ly, adverbWords nearby dumb
dum vivimus, vivamus,
dum-dum,
duma,
dumaguete,
dumas,
dumb,
dumb ague,
dumb barter,
dumb bid,
dumb bunny,
dumb cane
Example sentences from the Web for dumbly
British Dictionary definitions for dumbly
dumb
/ (dʌm) /
adjective
Derived forms of dumb
dumbly, adverb dumbness, nounWord Origin for dumb
Old English; related to Old Norse
dumbr, Gothic
dumbs, Old High German
tump