Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Unable to speak, typically due to a physical condition: Describes a person or animal that lacks the physical capacity for speech, often from birth.
   • Temporarily speechless: Describes a state where someone is momentarily unable to speak, usually due to a strong emotion like shock, fear, or awe.
   • (Chiefly US, informal) Stupid or unintelligent: Used to describe a person, action, or thing that is foolish, silly, or lacking in good judgment.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective (Unable to speak):
  • She was born deaf and dumb.
  • The injury left him dumb.
• Adjective (Temporarily speechless):
  • The shocking news struck her dumb.
  • He was dumb with amazement.
• Adjective (Informal: Stupid):
  • That was a dumb mistake.
  • I feel dumb for not understanding the instructions.

Advanced Usage

• "dumb luck": Pure chance or luck, with no skill or intelligence involved.
  • I found my keys by dumb luck.
• "dumb down" (phrasal verb): To simplify something to the point of being less intelligent or accurate.
  • The article was dumbed down for a younger audience.
• "play dumb": To pretend to be ignorant or unaware.
  • He knew the answer but decided to play dumb.

Variants and Related Words

• Dumbly (adverb): In a dumb manner; silently or stupidly.
  • He stared dumbly at the broken machine.
• Dumbness (noun): The state or quality of being dumb.
  • The dumbness of the plan was obvious to everyone.
• Dumbfound (verb): To astonish or make speechless with surprise.
  • The magician's trick dumbfounded the audience.

Synonyms

• Mute: Unable to speak (more formal/clinical than 'dumb').
• Speechless: Temporarily unable to speak.
• Stupid, Foolish, Unintelligent: Lacking intelligence or good sense (for the informal meaning).

Phrasal Verbs

• Dumb down: To simplify or reduce the intellectual content of something.
  • They had to dumb down the textbook for the new course.
• Dumb something up (rare): The opposite of 'dumb down'; to make something more intellectual or complex.

Idioms

• Deaf and dumb: An outdated and now often considered offensive term for a person who cannot hear or speak. Modern preferred terms are "deaf and non-speaking" or "deaf and mute."
• Dumb as a post/oak: Extremely stupid.
  • He's as dumb as a post when it comes to fixing cars.
• Dumb animal: A term for an animal that cannot speak; sometimes used to imply a lack of intelligence.
  • He treats his workers like dumb animals.

Adjective

1. unable to speak because of hereditary deafness
2. lacking the power of human speech
   • dumb animals
3. temporarily incapable of speaking
   • struck dumb
   • speechless with shock
4. 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