dumber; dumbest
1
a
: lacking intelligence : stupid
pretended to be dumb
b
: showing a lack of intelligence
asking dumb questions
a dumb look on his face
c
: requiring no intelligence
dumb luck
2
a
: lacking the human power of speech
dumb animals
b
dated, offensive, of a person; see usage paragraph below
: lacking the ability to speak : mute
3
: temporarily unable to speak (as from shock or astonishment)
struck dumb with fear
4
: not expressed in uttered words
dumb grief
5
6
: lacking some usual attribute or accompaniment
7
: not having the capability to process data
a dumb terminal
compare intelligent sense 3a
dumbness
noun
Usage of Dumb
The term dumb as a descriptor for someone lacking the ability to speak was once common, and from the early 19th century, it featured in the names of schools and advocacy organizations. In that same century, however, rejection of the term by the population it aimed to describe began, and by the end of the 20th century, the offensiveness of dumb was widely recognized. When a single term to describe someone who lacks the ability to speak is called for, the adjective mute is used instead.
dumbed; dumbing; dumbs
: to make silent : deaden
would lie around, dumbed by the drugs—
Norman Mailer
Norman MailerExamples of dumb in a Sentence
Adjective
I'm not dumb enough to believe that.
It was a dumb idea in the first place.
He just stood there with a dumb grin on his face.
This is one of the dumbest TV shows I've ever seen.
It was dumb luck that we found this place at all.
His success is just a matter of dumb luck.
He was born deaf and dumb.
Verb
the terrible news dumbed her for a long moment, and then she burst into tears
Recent Examples on the Web
Scott Meslow, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Make something dumb and beautiful.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 26 Oct. 2025
David Denby, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
Even in highly specialized sectors like aerospace and defense, the best stories don’t dumb things down.
—Heather Rosenow, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dumb
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
The bounty hunter kills some random dudes who are dumb enough to cross him and steals a Falka doll from some little girls who have adopted the Rats as folk heroes.
—Scott Meslow, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
Make something dumb and beautiful.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 26 Oct. 2025
Verb
His commentary is equally free of snobbery and of attempts to dumb anything down.
—David Denby, New Yorker, 20 July 2025
Even in highly specialized sectors like aerospace and defense, the best stories don’t dumb things down.
—Heather Rosenow, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dumb
Cite this Entry
“Dumb.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumb. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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