Dictionary

dumb

Pronunciation

Adjective

dumb (comparative dumber, superlative dumbest)

(dated) Unable to speak; lacking power of speech (kept in "deaf, dumb, and blind").
Synonyms: dumbstruck, mute, speechless, wordless
His younger brother was born dumb, and communicated with sign language.
- to unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures
(dated) Silent; unaccompanied by words.
dumb show
- 1591, William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1, Act II, sc. 4:
  Since you are tongue-tied and so loath to speak
  In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts
- 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 23:
  O let my books be then the eloquence
  And dumb presagers of my speaking breast ...
- to pierce into the dumb past
(informal, pejorative, especially of a person) Extremely stupid.
Synonyms: feeble-minded, idiotic, moronic, stupid, Thesaurus:stupid
You are so dumb! You don't even know how to make toast!
(figuratively) Pointless, foolish, lacking intellectual content or value.
Synonyms: banal, brainless, dopey, silly, stupid, ridiculous, vulgar
This is dumb! We're driving in circles! We should have asked for directions an hour ago!
Brendan had the dumb job of moving boxes from one conveyor belt to another.
Lacking brightness or clearness, as a colour.
- 1720, Daniel Defoe, The Life, Adventures and Piracies of the Famous Captain Singleton
  Her stern, which was painted of a dumb white or dun color.

Translations

Translations

Verb

dumb (dumbs, present participle dumbing; past and past participle dumbed)

(dated) To silence.
- 1607, William Shakespeare, Anthony and Cleopatra, Act I, sc. 5:
  ... what I would have spoke
  Was beastly dumbed by him.
(transitive) To make stupid.
(transitive) To represent as stupid.
(transitive) To reduce the intellectual demands of.

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