Word forms: comparative dumber, superlative dumbest, 3rd person singular presenttense dumbs, present participle dumbing, past tense, past participle dumbed
1. adjective
Someone who is dumb is completely unable to speak.
[offensive]
...a young deaf and dumb man.
2. adjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If someone is dumb on a particular occasion, they cannot speak because they are angry, shocked, or surprised.
[literary]
We were all struck dumb for a minute.
Synonyms: silent, mute, speechless, inarticulate More Synonyms of dumb
dumblyadverb [ADVERB with verb]
I shook my head dumbly, not believing him.
3. adjective
If you call a person dumb, you mean that they are stupid or foolish.
[informal, disapproval]
I've met a lot of dumb people.
The questions were set up to make her look dumb.
4. adjective
If you say that something is dumb, you think that it is silly and annoying.
[US, informal, disapproval]
I came up with this dumb idea.
Synonyms: stupid, thick, dull, foolish More Synonyms of dumb
5. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
Something that is dumb is done or expressed without words.
[literary]
An expression of dumb recognition wiggled across her features.
Phrasal verbs:
See dumb down
dumb in British English
(dʌm)
adjective
1.
lacking the power of human speech
dumb animals
2. 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
b.
foolish; stupid
8. informal
(of an electronic device) not able to access the internet or function as a computer
a dumb phone
9. informal
(of a projectile or bomb) not guided to its target
Derived forms
dumbly (ˈdumbly)
adverb
dumbness (ˈdumbness)
noun
Word origin
Old English; related to Old Norse dumbr, Gothic dumbs, Old High German tump
dumb in American English
(dʌm)
adjective
1.
lacking the power of speech; mute
now regarded as offensive
2.
unwilling to talk; silent
3.
not accompanied by speech
4.
temporarily speechless, as from fear
5.
producing no sound
6.
lacking some normal part, characteristic, or quality
7. US, Informal
stupid; moronic
8. Computing
designating or of a terminal not equipped with its own processor
cf. intelligent (sense 3) intelligent (sense 3a)
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈvoiceless
Idioms:
dumb down
Derived forms
dumbly (ˈdumbly)
adverb
dumbness (ˈdumbness)
noun
Word origin
ME & OE, akin to Ger dumm (Goth dumbs), mute, stupid < nasalized var. of IE *dheubh < base *dheu-: see dull; (sense 7) Ger dumm
Synonyms of 'dumb'
silent, mute, speechless, inarticulate
stupid, thick, dull, foolish
More Synonyms of dumb
In other languages
dumb
British English: dumb /dʌm/ ADJECTIVE
Someone who is dumb is completely unable to speak.
...a young deaf and dumb man.
American English: dumb
Arabic: أبْكَم
Brazilian Portuguese: mudo
Chinese: 哑的
Croatian: nijem
Czech: němý
Danish: stum
Dutch: stom unable to speak
European Spanish: mudo
Finnish: mykkä
French: muet
German: stumm
Greek: μουγγός
Italian: muto
Japanese: 口のきけない
Korean: 말을 못하는
Norwegian: stum
Polish: niemy
European Portuguese: mudo
Romanian: mut
Russian: немой
Latin American Spanish: mudo
Swedish: stum
Thai: โง่
Turkish: dilsiz
Ukrainian: німий
Vietnamese: câm
All related terms of 'dumb'
dumb ox
a stupid person
dumb ague
an irregular form of malarial fever ( ague ) lacking the typically symptomatic chill
dumb-ass
a stupid person
dumb-bell
A dumb-bell is a short bar with weights on either side which people use for physical exercise to strengthen their arm and shoulder muscles .
dumb-cane
a West Indian aroid plant, Dieffenbachia seguine , chewing the stem of which induces speechlessness by paralysing the throat muscles
dumb down
If you dumb down something, you make it easier for people to understand , especially when this spoils it.
dumb show
a part of a play done in pantomime
dumb cluck
a stupid person
dumb waiter
A dumb waiter is a lift used to carry food and dishes from one floor of a building to another.
strike dumb
to amaze ; astound ; astonish
dumb terminal
a computer terminal without an independent data-processing capacity
dumb insolence
a silent act designed to frustrate a complainer, criticizer, superior etc perhaps involving a refusal to answer them, looking sideways or at other people as they chastise you or ignoring them by continuing what you are doing.
deaf-and-dumb
unable to hear or speak
dumbwaiter
a stand placed near a dining table to hold food
Chinese translation of 'dumb'
dumb
(dʌm)
adj
(= mute, silent) 哑的 (yǎ de)
(pej, = stupid, foolish) 愚蠢的 (yúchǔn de)
(US, inf, = silly, annoying)[idea]傻的 (shǎ de)
to be struck dumb哑(啞)口无(無)言 (yǎ kǒu wú yán)
1 (adjective)
Definition
done or performed without speech
We were all struck dumb for a minute.
Synonyms
silent
They both fell silent.
mute
I threw her a mute look of appeal.
speechless
Alex was speechless with rage and despair.
inarticulate
extremes of anger, from inarticulate fury to mild irritation
tongue-tied
In their presence I became self-conscious and tongue-tied.
wordless
voiceless
soundless
at a loss for words
mum
I'd be in trouble if I let on. So I kept mum.
2 (adjective)
Definition
stupid or slow to understand
(informal)
I came up with this dumb idea.
Synonyms
stupid
I'm not stupid, you know.
thick
He speaks to me as if I'm thick.
dull
foolish
It would be foolish to raise hopes unnecessarily.
dense
You can be a bit dense sometimes.
dozy (British, informal)
dim
The new student wasn't as dim as we first thought.
obtuse
I think you're being deliberately obtuse.
unintelligent
He was abusive of Hemingway as an unintelligent philistine.
asinine
I have never heard such an asinine discussion.
dim-witted (informal)
He plays a dimwitted Irish priest in the TV series.
Opposites
bright
,
smart
,
clever
,
intelligent
,
quick-witted
phrasal verb
See dumb something down
Additional synonyms
in the sense of asinine
Definition
obstinate or stupid
I have never heard such an asinine discussion.
Synonyms
stupid,
silly,
foolish,
daft (informal),
senseless,
goofy (informal),
idiotic,
inane,
fatuous,
moronic,
imbecile,
gormless (British, informal),
brainless,
imbecilic,
braindead (informal),
dumb-ass (slang),
dead from the neck up (informal),
thickheaded,
dunderheaded,
halfwitted,
thick-witted
in the sense of dense
Definition
stupid or dull
You can be a bit dense sometimes.
Synonyms
stupid (informal),
slow,
thick,
dull,
dumb (informal),
crass,
dozy (British, informal),
stolid,
dopey (informal),
moronic,
obtuse,
brainless,
blockheaded,
braindead (informal),
dumb-ass (informal),
dead from the neck up (informal),
thickheaded,
blockish,
dim-witted (informal),
slow-witted,
thick-witted
in the sense of dim
Definition
mentally dull
The new student wasn't as dim as we first thought.