# dumb

Pronunciation: say "DUM" /dʌm/

## Adjective

1. Stupid, or showing a lack of sense; also silly and pointless. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Not clever, or silly and pointless, as in a dumb idea.
   - _Calling her plan dumb only made the meeting tenser._
   - _It was a dumb mistake that ended up costing them the game._
4. Of a device: lacking the computing power, connected features, or other functions found in comparable ones.
   - Simple: Describes a machine that is simple and lacks the smart features other machines have, like a dumb phone.
   - _The network connects dozens of dumb terminals to a single mainframe._
   - _After the app kept crashing, we replaced our smart thermostat with a dumb one that just has a dial._

## Verb

2. To reduce the intellectual demands of something; make it simpler than it was.
   - Simple: To make something easier so it needs less thinking.
   - _The studio dumbed down the script to appeal to a wider audience._
   - _Publishers often dumb down complex topics for general readers._
5. To make stupid; cause to become less intelligent.
   - Simple: To make a person or mind less smart.
   - _Some parents worry that endless scrolling will dumb their children down._
   - _The propaganda was designed to dumb down the population over a generation._
8. To portray or represent someone as stupid.
   - Simple: To show or describe a person as stupid.

## Adverb

10. Very; extremely (used to intensify another word). *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Used before another word to mean very or extremely.
   - _The new apartment is dumb expensive, but the view is worth it._
   - _She's dumb talented at drawing portraits from memory._

## Adjective

3. Lacking the physical ability to talk or produce spoken words. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Not able to speak or make words with the voice.
   - _Born deaf and dumb, she relied on a system of hand signs._
   - _A fever in his youth had left him dumb, though his hearing was perfect._
6. Silent; making no sound, speaking no words, or unwilling to talk. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Silent, without sound or words, or not wanting to talk.
   - _The actors performed a dumb show before the spoken scene began._
   - _The crowd watched in dumb amazement as the tightrope walker stepped out over the canyon._
7. Used as an intensifier expressing contempt or annoyance; damn, damned. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Used before a word to show anger or dislike.
9. Having no input or voice in how things are run. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Having no say in how things are run.
12. Lacking brightness or clearness in color; dim and dull. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Dull, not bright or clear in color.

## Verb

11. To silence; cause to make no sound or speak no words. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To make a person or thing stop making sound.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–4, 6, 9, 12** — From Middle English and Old English 'dumb', meaning silent, mute, or unable to speak, going back to Proto-Germanic *dumbaz ('dull, dumb') and a Proto-Indo-European root. The senses of 'stupid' and 'pointless', regular only since the 19th century, probably developed under the influence of German 'dumm' and Dutch 'dom', which also originally meant 'lacking the power of speech'. It is cognate with Dutch 'dom', German 'dumm', and Swedish 'dum'.
**Meanings 2, 5, 8, 11** — From Middle English 'dumben', from Old English *dumbian (seen in the compound 'ādumbian', 'to become mute, keep silence'), from Proto-Germanic *dumbijaną, *dumbōną ('to be silent, become dumb'), and ultimately a Proto-Indo-European root. It is cognate with German 'verdummen'.
**Meanings 7, 10** — A minced oath of 'damn', that is, a softened substitute for that swear word.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/dumb (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).