Dumb

Definition: Dumb

Dumb

Adjective

1. 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".

2. Unable to speak temporarily; "struck dumb"; "speechless with shock".

3. Lacking the power of human speech; "dumb animals".

4. Unable to speak because of hereditary deafness.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "dumb" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Etymology: Dumb \Dumb\, adjective. [Anglo-Saxon dumb; akin to Dutch dom stupid, dumb, Swedish dumb, Gothic dumbs; compare to Greek blind. See Deaf, and compare to Dummy.]. (references)

Bible

Dream Interpretation

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Dumb

Absence or want of Intellect

Moron, imbecile, idiot; fool; dumb animal; vegetable, brain-dead.

Animal

Beast, brute, creature, critter, wight, created being; creeping thing, living thing; dumb animal, dumb creature; zoophyte.

Aphony

Silence; render mute, render silent; muzzle, muffle, suppress, smother, gag, strike dumb, dumfounder; drown the voice, put to silence, stop one's mouth, cut one short.

Adjective: aphonous, dumb, mute; deafmute, deaf and dumb; mum; tongue-tied; breathless, tongueless, voiceless, speechless, wordless; mute as a fish, mute as a stockfish, mute as a mackerel; silent; (taciturn); muzzled; inarticulate, inaudible.

Humility

Render humble; humble, humiliate; let down, set down, take down, tread down, frown down; snub, abash, abase, make one sing small, strike dumb; teach one his distance; put down, take down a peg, take down a peg lower; throw into the shade, cast into the shade; stare out of countenance, put out of countenance; put to the blush; confuse, ashame, mortify, disgrace, crush; send away with a flea in one's ear.

Indication

Gesture, gesticulation; pantomime; wink, glance, leer; nod, shrug, beck; touch, nudge; dactylology, dactylonomy; freemasonry, telegraphy, chirology, byplay, dumb show; cue; hint; clue, clew, key, scent.

Adverb: in token of; symbolically; Adjective: in dumb show.

Taciturnity

Adjective: silent, mute, mum; silent as a post, silent as a stone, silent as the grave; (still); dumb; unconversable.

Wonder

Surprise, astonish, amaze, astound; dumfound, dumfounder; startle, dazzle; daze; strike, strike with wonder, strike with awe; electrify; stun, stupefy, petrify, confound, bewilder, flabbergast, stagger, throw on one's beam ends, fascinate, turn the head, take away one's breath, strike dumb; make one's hair stand on end, make one's tongue cleave to the roof of one's mouth; make one stare.

Crosswords: Dumb

The plan, as it turned out, was as simple and as dumb as anything we'd ever done (Sleepers; writing credit: Barry Levinson)

Am I dumb or something (Singin' in the Rain; writing credit: Betty Comden; Adolph Green)

You dumb stubborn redneck hick (Sweet Home Alabama; writing credit: C. Jay Cox)

I'm in town to play the Dolphins, you dumb ass. (There's Something About Mary; writing credit: Ed Decter; John J. Strauss)

Poor dumb bastards (Full Metal Jacket; writing credit: Gustav Hasford, Michael Herr, Stanley Kubrick)

That I think it's time for you to find another dumb blonde (Another Dumb Blond; performing artist: Hoku)

Junglescape, dumb as an ape doing nothing (Superman's Song; performing artist: Crash Test Dummies)

All of a sudden you be acting dumb ("Bills, Bills, Bills"; performing artist: Destiny's Child)

And all them other cats you run with, get done with, dumb quick (Party Up; performing artist: DMX)

What I did was stupid, no doubt it was dumb (Cleanin' Out My Closet; performing artist: Eminem)

Dumb Like a Fox (1964)

Dutiful But Dumb (1941)

Wealthy and Dumb Healthy (1938)

The Dumb Cluck (1937)

3 Dumb Clucks (1937)

Some Dumb Duke (performing artist: Nate Bucklin)

Another Dumb Blonde (performing artist: Hoku)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Make Way for Dumb Bunnies (reference)

• The Dumb Bunnies (The Dumb Bunnies) (reference)

• Why Smart People Do Dumb Things (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Dumb and Dumber (reference)

• Poirot - Dumb Witness (reference)

• Three Stooges - Healthy Wealthy & Dumb (reference)

• Drunk Driving Can Make You Dumb (reference)

• Healthy, Wealthy and Dumb (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Another Dumb Blonde [US CD5/Cassette] [CD-SINGLE] [SOUNDTRACK] (reference)

• Dumb And Dumber: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK] (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domesticated animals afflicted with dumb rabies may become increasingly depressed, and try to hide in isolated places, while wild animals seem to lose their fear of human beings, often appearing unusually friendly. Credit: CDC.

Animals with "dumb" rabies appear depressed, lethargic, and uncoordinated. Gradually they become completely paralyzed. When their throat and jaw muscles are paralyzed, the animals will drool and have difficulty swallowing. Credit: CDC.

Royal Dispensary for Diseases of the Ear, London, England. : Plate representing three deaf and dumb patients who have obtained their hearing and speech at the Dispensary. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

It sez here they're goin' to start Coolidge Deaf an' Dumb clubs all ... Credit: Library of Congress.

Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Jacksonville, Ill. Credit: Library of Congress.

Pennsylvania Institution for the Deaf and Dumb / artist, James S. Reider, assisted by his teacher. Credit: Library of Congress.

If you must be a dumb bunny stay one jump ahead of trouble! / Bode. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

In each averted face I marked but scorn and loathing, till mine eyes Fell upon one that stirred not in his place, Tranced in a dumb surprise

From month to month the hostility increased, and from dumb it became outspoken

Put in that dumb cell

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "dumb": be struck dumb ♦ become dumb ♦ born dumb ♦ by dumb show ♦ deaf and dumb ♦ Deaf and dumb alphabet ♦ deaf and dumb language ♦ Dumb ague ♦ Dumb animal ♦ dumb bell ♦ Dumb cake ♦ Dumb cane ♦ Dumb chill ♦ Dumb crambo ♦ dumb creature ♦ dumb devices ♦ dumb peripheral ♦ dumb person ♦ Dumb piano ♦ Dumb show ♦ Dumb spinet ♦ dumb terminal ♦ dumb things ♦ dumb waiter ♦ dumb with surprise ♦ grow dumb ♦ in dumb show ♦ strike dumb ♦ strike smb. dumb ♦ struck dumb ♦ To strike dumb. Additional references.

Beginning with "dumb": dumb-ass, dumb-bell, dumb-bells, dumb-bell-shaped, dumb-blonde, dumb-brunette, dumb-dumb, dumb-mindedness, dumb-show, dumb-struck, dumb-waiter.

Ending with "dumb": deaf-and-dumb, deaf-dumb, dumb-dumb, jungle-dumb, mega-dumb, semi-dumb.

Containing "dumb": deaf-and-dumb person, deaf-dumb person, multi-dumb-bell, not-so-dumb-broads.

Albanian

memec (inarticulate, mute, speechless, voiceless), i trashë (bearish, clumsy, coarse, coarse grained, crass, deep, dense, dullish, dummy, fat, fatuous, fool, full-bodied, full-fed, gross, gruff, lardy, oafish, obese, obtuse, puddingy, purblind, ropy, rough and ready, round, roundabout, slapstick, slow witted, slowcoach, stupid, tactless, thick, uncouth, viscous, wooden, wooden-headed), i shtangur (aghast, dumbfounded, fascinated, flabbergasted, frozen), i pamend (brainless, dizzy, foolish, inane, injudicious, mad, mindless, pinheaded, rattle-brained, rattle-headed), i pagojë (speechless, voiceless), i heshtur (antisocial, cagey, cagy, catlike, close-mouthed, latent, mute, quiet, silent, sleepy, taciturn, tight lipped, wordless), gojëkyçur (close-mouthed, mum, secret), budalla (anserine, anserous, asinine, ass, blunderhead, booby, brainless, cabbage-head, chuckle-head, clod, cloddish, clod-poll, cockeyed, daft, dense, Dick, dim witted, dimwit, dumbbell, fathead, fool, gaby, gaga, goof, goofy, goon, Goosey, gowk, half wit, idiot, idle-headed, imbecile, jobbernowl, jolterhead, josser, juggins, loon, mindless, moke, muff, mutton head, mutton-headed, nerd, nincompoop, ninny, ninny-hammer, nitwit, noddy, noodle, numskull, nut, owl, pin head, pumpkin-head, sheep's head, silly, slow witted, softhead, soft-headed, softy, spoony, stupid, tomfool, tom-noddy, witless). (various references)

Arabic 

‏مغفل (dense, dolt, dullard, dunce, dunderhead, dupe, fat-witted, fool, foolish, licentious, moronic, mutton-headed, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, numskull, pointless, rubbishy, silly, simple, simple minded, simpleton, soft-headed, softy, stupid, thick-headed, weak-minded), ‏صامت (mum, mute, noiseless, quiet, silenced, silent, speechless, still, surd, tacit, tight lipped, unvoiced, voiceless, whist, wordless), ‏خرس (dry up, muteness, mutism, quiet, silence), ‏الأبكم, ‏أعجم, ‏أخرس (aphony, mute, shut up, silent, tongue tied), ‏أبكم (deaf mute, deafen, mute, speechless, voiceless). (various references)

Basque

mutu. (various references)

Bulgarian 

скучен (arid, dead alive, drear, dryasdust, dull, dusty, heartbreaking, heavy, humdrum, insipid, jejune, jogtrot, long, long winded, long-spun, moldy, monotonous, mouldy, mousey, plodding, pokey, ponderous, prosaic, prosy, slow, soggy, stodgy, stuffy, tedious, uninspired, uninteresting, unvaried, vapid, weariful, wearisome), тъп (asinine, blunt, bovine, cloddish, crass, dense, dim, dim witted, dopey, dopy, dull, gross, hollow, impenetrable, lumpish, muddle-headed, obtuse, opaque, puddingy, purblind, slow, sodden, stupid, thick, thick-headed, thick-witted, torpid, unpointed, wooden-headed), онемял (muted, tongue tied), ням (implicit, inarticulate, mute, silent, speechless, still, voiceless), безмълвен (mute, noiseless, quiet, silent, speechless, still, wordless), без струни, без мачти, без звук, без платна. (various references)

Chinese 

瘖 , 沉默寡言, 啞 (mute), 吧 , 喑 . (various references)

Czech

pitomý (bloody, daft, dopey, fool, foolish, frigging, gormless, idiotic, jerked), přitroublý (nitty), nìmý (blank, inarticulate, mute, speechless, voiceless). (various references)

Danish

stum (mute, speechless). (various references)

Dutch

stom (addled, foolish, mute, silent, speechless, stupid), sprakeloos (mute, speechless). (various references)

Esperanto

muta (mute, speechless). (various references)

Faeroese

dumbur (mute, speechless), tigandi (mute, speechless). (various references)

Finnish

mykkä (mute, speechless, tongue-tied). (various references)

French

muet. (various references)

German

stumm (mute, mutely, non-speaking, silent, speechless). (various references)

Greek 

βουβόσ (mute, wordless), μουγγός (mute), χαζός (bozo, fool, foolish, silly, stupid), ηλίθιοσ (booby, clot, cretin, dopey, dull, fool, gawky, goofy, goon, idiot, idiotic, imbecile, mooncalf, moronic, nitwit, poky, sap-head, sheepish, sottish, stupid, thick), άλαλοσ (mute), άλογοσ (irrational, unwarranted). (various references)

Hebrew 

שתוק (neutralization, palsy, paralysis, silenced, silencing, silent), אלם (dumbness, dummy, hush, mute, muteness, silence, silent, voiceless), דומם (immobile, in silence, inanimate, inorganic, lifeless, quiet, silently, speechless, speechlessly, still). (various references)

Hungarian

néma (as still as death, dummy, mum, mute, quiescent, speechless, unsounded). (various references)

Indonesian

goblok (stupid), gendeng (inclined, oblique, stupid), gagu (empty minded, mute, void of ideas), bodoh (dull, fool, hare-brained, idiot, obtuse, wooden-headed), bisu (mute), bebal (chump, silly). (various references)

Italian

muto (blank, mute, silent, speechless, tongue tied, voiceless). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

ダフ屋 (double, double-breasted, double-count, dowel, dummy, French cuffs, scalper, to coincide, to have two of something, to repeat a school year after failing). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ダム . (various references)

Korean 

벙어리 (Mute). (various references)

Manx

amloayrtagh (mute). (various references)

Norwegian

stum (mute, speechless). (various references)

Occitan

mut. (various references)

Papiamen

mudu (mute, speechless), mudo (mute, speechless). (various references)

Pig Latin

umbday.(various references)

Portuguese

mudo (aphonic, mute, soundless, speechless, toneless, unsounded, unvoiced, voiceless, wordless). (various references)

Romanian

tãcut (close-lipped, discreet, mousy, mum, quiet, reserved, silent, silently, still, sullen, tacit, voiceless), tâmpit (addle, addle-brained, awfully, blunt, brain-hampered, chucklehead, clod, crass, daft, dense, dim, donkey, Dotty, duffer, dull, dumb bell, fiddling, fool, idiot, imbecile, jay, lubber-head, lunkhead, mutt, piffling, pillock, sap, squarehead, stupid, sucker), prost (ass, bad, badly, beef-witted, blinkard, blockhead, blunt, booby, calf, cheap, clumsy, cock eyed, common, dead, dolt, doltish, donkey, dull, dullard, dunce, dunderhead, flat, fool, foolish, good for nothing, goof, goon, goose, Goosey, gull, harmful, idiot, idiotish, inhospitable, lousy, lubber-head, miserable, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, nitwitted, noddy, noodle, numskull, numskulled, oaf, oafish, pin head, poor, poorly, silly, simple, simpleton, snipe, soft, soft-headed, sorry, spoony, stupid, thoughtless, unfavorable, unfavourable, wretched, zombie), necuvântãtor, mut (inarticulate, mute, mutely, sharp, silent, silently, speechless, voiceless), buimac (amazed, astounded, dismayed, dizzy, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, flummoxed, horrified). (various references)

Russian 

немой (mute, silent, speechless). (various references)

Scottish

balbh (silent). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

nem (mute, silent, speechless, tongue tied, voiceless), glup (anserine, asinine, brainless, calvish, cloddish, dense, dozy, dull, fat-witted, jerk, obtuse, sheepish, silly, stupid, unintelligent). (various references)

Spanish

mudo (blank, mute, quiescent, silent, speechless, voiceless). (various references)

Swedish

stum (inarticulate, mute, silent, speechless, voiceless), dum (addled, bird brained, blithering, crass, daft, dense, doltish, dopey, dopy, empty headed, fatuous, fool, foolish, goofy, half-witted, idiotic, idle-headed, insensate, lumpish, nitwitted, oafish, opaque, phoney, rattle-brained, rattle-headed, rattle-pated, sappy, silly, stupid, witless). (various references)

Thai

โง่ (brainless, dipstick, dizzy, dull, foolish, lumpish, muddle-headed, nerdy, oafish, silly, simple, simple-minded, stockish, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted). (various references)

Turkish

dilsiz (inarticulate, mute, speechless, voiceless), sessiz (close-tongued, hushed, mum, mute, muted, noiseless, nonviolent, non-violent, quiescent, quiet, reserved, reticent, silent, soundless, speechless, still, surd, tacit, taciturn, tuneless, unvoiced, voiceless, without a sound, wordless), aptal (bird brained, birdbrain, booby, cretin, cuckoo, daft, Dotty, drag, dumb bell, dummy, dunce, fathead, fat-head, fat-headed, fatuous, feeble minded, fool, foolish, gaga, goofy, gormless, half wit, half-witted, harebrained, idiot, idiotic, inane, innocent, lummox, oafish, silly, simp, softhead, softy, stupid, thickheaded, tomfool, twerp, twit). (various references)

Ukrainian

німий (dummy, mute, speechless, voiceless, walking, whist, wordless), мовчазний (broody, inarticulate, mum, mute, obmutescent, quiescent, reticent, silent, soundless, stilly, tacit, taciturn, tight lipped, uncommunicative, wordless), латентний (delitescent, latent), беззвучний (aphonic, soundless), дрімотний (dozy, slumberous, slumbery, slumbrous). (various references)

Vietnamese 

ngu ngốc (chuckle-headed, cretinous, fat-headed, fatuous, feather-brained, feather-headed, feather-pate, feather-pated, idiotic, idiotical, inane, insipient), ngớ ngẩn (anserine, blunder, dotty, muddle-headed, muddy-headed, sap-headed, sappy, sillily, silly), không nói lên được lầm lì, không nói câm, câm (mute, soundless). (various references)

Welsh

mud (dull, mute). (various references)

Yucatec

toot (mute, speechless). (various references)

muta, mute, muti, muto, mutorum, mutos, mutum, mutus, stolidus. (various references)

dumb. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "dumb": dumbbell, dumbbells, dumbcane, dumbcanes, dumbed, dumber, dumbest, dumbfound, dumbfounded, dumbfounder, dumbfoundered, dumbfoundering, dumbfounders, dumbfounding, dumbfounds, dumbhead, dumbheads, dumbing, dumbly, dumbness, dumbnesses, dumbs, dumbstruck, dumbwaiter, dumbwaiters. (additional references)

Words ending with "dumb": bedumb. (additional references)

Words containing "dumb": adumbral, adumbrate, adumbrated, adumbrates, adumbrating, adumbration, adumbrations, adumbrative, adumbratively, bedumbed, bedumbing, bedumbs. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Dumb" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: damb, Dembo, Demby, dhm, dimb, dimbo, dlum, dmu, domb, Domby, Dounby, dowb, Drumbo, Dubb, dubh, Duhm, dulm, dum, duma, dumbb, dumbs, Dumby, dume, D'ume, dumm, dummm, dumn, sumb, tumb, Udpb, umb. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: bud, bum, dub, mud.

-2 letters: mu, um.

+1 letter: dumbs.

+2 letters: bedumb, blumed, bummed, bumped, dumbed, dumber, dumbly, imbued, numbed.

+3 letters: bedumbs, bemused, budworm, bumbled, crumbed, drumble, dubnium, dumbest, dumbing, embrued, fumbled, humbled, imbrued, jumbled, mumbled, plumbed, rumbaed, rumbled, thumbed, tumbled, umbeled, umbered.

+4 letters: adumbral, ambushed, badmouth, basidium, bdellium, bedumbed, bemuddle, benumbed, bermudas, besmudge, budworms, bumpered, crumbled, cumbered, dibbukim, drumbeat, drumbled, drumbles, dubniums, dumbbell, dumbcane, dumbhead, dumbness, dybbukim, embruted, grumbled, imbruted, labdanum, lumbered, misbound, misbuild, misdoubt, moribund, nimbused, numbered, rhumbaed, rubidium, scumbled, stumbled, subhumid, sublimed, subsumed, umbelled, unblamed, uncombed, unimbued.