dumb (redirected from dumber)

dumb  (dm)

adj. dumb·er, dumb·est

1.

a. Lacking the power of speech. Used of animals and inanimate objects.

b. Often Offensive Incapable of using speech; mute. Used of humans. See Usage Note at mute.

2. Temporarily speechless, as with shock or fear: I was dumb with disbelief.

3. Unwilling to speak; taciturn.

4. Not expressed or articulated in sounds or words: dumb resentment.

5. Nautical Not self-propelling.

6. Conspicuously unintelligent; stupid: dumb officials; a dumb decision.

7. Unintentional; haphazard: dumb luck.

tr.v. dumbed, dumb·ing, dumbs

To make silent or dumb.

Phrasal Verb:

dumb down/up Slang

To rewrite for a less educated or less sophisticated audience.

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[Middle English, from Old English.]

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dumbly adv.

dumbness n.

Our Living Language In ordinary spoken English, a sentence such as He is dumb will be interpreted to mean "He is stupid" rather than "He lacks the power of speech." "Lacking the power of speech" is, however, the original sense of the word, but it has been eclipsed by the meaning "stupid." For this change in meaning, it appears that the Germans are responsible. German has a similar and related word dumm that means "stupid," and over time, as a result of the waves of German immigrants to the United States, it has come to influence the meaning of English dumb. This is one of dozens of marks left by German on American English. Some words, like kindergarten, dachshund, and schnapps still have a German feel or are associated to some extent with Germany, but others, like bum, cookbook, fresh (in the meaning "impertinent"), rifle, and noodle have become so thoroughly Americanized their German origins may surprise some.

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dumb [dʌm]

adj

1. (Medicine / Pathology) lacking the power to speak, either because of defects in the vocal organs or because of hereditary deafness; mute

2. lacking the power of human speech dumb animals

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; dim-witted

b.  foolish; stupid See also dumb down

8. (Military) (of a projectile or bomb) not guided to its target

[Old English; related to Old Norse dumbr, Gothic dumbs, Old High German tump]

dumbly  adv

dumbness  n

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	dumb - 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" slow, obtuse, dense, dim, dull stupid - lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
	2.	dumb - temporarily incapable of speaking; "struck dumb"; "speechless with shock" speechless inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry"
	3.	dumb - lacking the power of human speech; "dumb animals" inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry"
	4.	dumb - unable to speak because of hereditary deafness mute, silent inarticulate, unarticulate - without or deprived of the use of speech or words; "inarticulate beasts"; "remained stupidly inarticulate and saying something noncommittal"; "inarticulate with rage"; "an inarticulate cry"

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dumb

adjective

1. unable to speak, mute, without the power of speech a young deaf and dumb man
unable to speak articulate

2. silent, mute, speechless, inarticulate, tongue-tied, wordless, voiceless, soundless, at a loss for words, mum We were all struck dumb for a minute.

3. (Informal) stupid, thick, dull, foolish, dense, dozy (Brit. informal), dim, obtuse, unintelligent, asinine, braindead (informal), dim-witted (informal) I came up with this dumb idea.
stupid bright, smart, clever, intelligent, quick-witted

dumb something down trivialize, sensationalize, make shallow, make superficial, make trivial, make frivolous, make less intelligent I know it must be tempting to dumb down news.

Translations

dumb [dʌm] ADJ (dumber (compar) (dumbest (superl)))

1. (Med) → mudo; (with surprise etc) → sin habla
a dumb person → un mudo
to become dumb → quedar mudo
she's deaf and dumb → es sordomuda
dumb animals → animales mpl indefensos
the dumb millions → los millones que no tienen voz
to be struck dumb (fig) → quedarse sin habla

2. (= stupid) → tonto, bobo
to act dumb → hacerse el tonto
don't be so dumb! → ¡no seas tonto or bobo!
that was a really dumb thing I did! → ¡lo que hice fue una verdadera tontería or bobada!
he says some dumb things → ¡dice cada tontería or bobada!
dumb blonde → rubia f descerebrada or sin seso
as dumb as an ox → más bruto que un arado

dumb down VT + ADV → embrutecer, empobrecer intelectualmente

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dumb [ˈdʌm] adj

(= unable to speak) → muet(te)
She's deaf and dumb → Elle est sourde-muette.
to be struck dumb (fig) → rester abasourdi(e), être sidéré(e)

(= stupid) [person] → bête; [idea] → stupide
That was a really dumb thing I did! → C'était vraiment stupide de ma part!

dumb down

vt sep [+ programme] → niveler par le bas; [+ culture, education] → niveler par le bas
dumb-bell dumbbell [ˈdʌmbɛl] n → haltère m

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dumb

adj (+er)

(= mute) → stumm; (= silent, speechless) → sprachlos; (liter: = silent) rage, recognition → wortlos, stumm; dumb animals → (unsere stummen Freunde,) die Tiere; she was struck dumb (fig) → es verschlug ihr die Sprache; she was struck dumb with fear/shock → die Angst/der Schock verschlug ihr die Sprache; he was in a dumb rage → er war stumm vor Wut; don’t give me that dumb insolence! → sieh mich nicht so unverschämt an!

(esp US inf: = stupid) → dumm, doof (inf); that was a dumb thing to do/say → wie kann man nur so etwas Dummes machen/sagen!; he did one dumb thing after another → er machte eine Dummheit nach der anderen; to act or play dumb → sich dumm stellen

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dumb:

dumbass

n (US sl) → Idiot m (inf), → Nullchecker(in) m(f) (inf)

dumbbell

n (Sport) → Hantel f

dumb blonde

n (pej inf) → dümmliche Blondine f (pej)

dumb cluck

n (inf: = fool) → Doofi m (inf)

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dumb:

dumb show

n (Theat) pantomimische Einlage in einem Stück; in dumb → in Mimik

dumb terminal

n (Comput) → Einfachterminal nt, → unintelligente Datenstation

dumb waiter

n → Speiseaufzug m; (= trolley) → Serviertisch m, → stummer Diener

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dumb [dʌm] adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl)))

a. (Med) → muto/a; (with surprise) → senza parole, ammutolito/a
a dumb person → un(a) muto/a
dumb animals → gli animali
to be struck dumb (fig) → restare senza parole, ammutolire

b. (fam) (stupid) → stupido/a
to act dumb → fare lo gnorri
a dumb blonde → una bionda svampita

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dumb

adj dumb [dam]

1 without the power of speech She was born deaf and dumb; We were struck dumb with astonishment. stomgeslaan أبْكَم ням němý stum stumm, sprachlos μουγγός, άλαλος mudo tumm لال mykkä muet אִילֵם गूंगा nijem néma bisu dumbur, mállaus muto 口のきけない 벙어리인 nebylys, netekęs žado pārsteigt kādu; padarīt mēmu bisu stom stum, umælende niemy mudo mut немой nemý nem nem stum ใบ้ dilsiz 啞的，不能說話的 німий گونگا câm 哑的，不能说话的

2 silent On this point he was dumb. stom صامِت безмълвен němý, mlčenlivý stille; stum still αμίλητος callado keeletu ساکت hiljainen muet אִילֵם चुप, मौन tih hallgatag membisu þögull muto 黙っている 침묵하는 nekalbus nerunīgs membisu stom taus niemy, oniemiały mudo fără grai безмолвный nemý molčeč nem tyst, mållös ไม่พูด sessiz, susmuş 無聲的 мовчазний, безсловесний خاموش lặng đi 无声的

3 (especially American) very stupid What a dumb thing to do! dom سَخيف глупав pitomý dum; tåbelig; åndssvag blöd χαζός tonto, estúpido tobe احمقانه؛ ابله tyhmä bête מטומטם बेवकूफ vrlo glup buta tolol heimskulegur, heimskur stupido ばかな 멍청한 kvailas muļķīgs bodoh dom dum, idiotisk, tåpelig głupi estúpido tâm­pit глупый hlúpy bedast glup dum ทึ่ม aptal, budala 愚蠢的 дурний بہت احمق rất ngu đần 愚蠢的

n dumbness

domheid بُكْم، عَدم القُدْرَه على الفَهْم безмълвност němota; hloupost dumhed; tåbelighed; åndssvaghed die Stummheit βουβαμάρα, χαζομάρα mudez, mutismo tummus لال بودن mykkyys mutisme אִילמוּת गूंगापन nijemost némaság kebodohan málleysi mutismo 口のきけないこと 말을 못함, 어리석음 nebylumas mēmums kebisuan stomheid stumhet, taushet; tåpelighet niemota mudez muţenie немота nemota nemost nemost stumhet, dumhet ความบ้าใบ้; ความเงียบ aptallık, budalalık 愚蠢 німота; тиша گونگا پن sự câm 愚蠢

adv dumbly

dommerige بِصَمَم، بِحُمق، بِبَلادَه нямо němě dumt; tåbeligt; åndssvagt stumm χαζά sin decir nada hääletult بطور گنگ؛ احمقانه äänettömänä en silence כְּאִילֵם अस्पष्ट रूप से gluho, nijemo némán membisu í þögn in silenzio 黙って 말을 못하게, 어리석게 nebyliai, nė žodžio netariant, kvailai mēmi; muļķīgi dengan bisu stom umælende, tåpelig głupio mudamente în tăcere безмолвно nemo nemo nemo stumt, dumt อึ้ง aptalca, budalaca 愚蠢地 безсловесно احمقانہ انداز میں thin thít 愚蠢地

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dumb → أبكم němý stum stumm μουγγός mudo mykkä muet nijem stupido 口のきけない 말을 못하는 dom stum niemy mudo немой stum โง่ dilsiz câm 哑的