dumb

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dʌm/ See IPA manual

Freq #1643

Meanings

1

adj
Stupid or silly (informal).

That was a dumb mistake, and I knew it right away.
2

adj
Unable to speak.

The injury left him deaf and dumb for the rest of his life.
3

adj
So shocked or surprised that you cannot speak.

The terrible news struck her dumb.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · stupid or silly (informal). stupid silly brainless dopey

2 adj · unable to speak. mute speechlesswordless

3 adj · so shocked or surprised... speechless

Word family

Forms dumberdumbestdumblydumbness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

dumb show
a dramatic performance that communicates through gestures and movement without speech

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

The only stupid question is the one you don't ask
Matching variant: The only dumb question is the one you don't ask

Simplified etymology

In Old English dumb meant “unable to speak” and could describe either people or animals. The sense “stupid” arose during the Middle Ages. The original sense also underlies dummy and dumbbell, the latter originally denoting a noiseless apparatus resembling one used to ring a church bell but lacking the bell itself.

Etymology

From Middle English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, ineffectual”), from Old English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, unable to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *dumb, from Proto-Germanic *dumbaz (“dull, dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). The senses of stupid, unintellectual, and pointless, which are found regularly since the 19th century only, probably developed under the influence of German dumm and Dutch dom. Just like the English word, these originally meant "lacking the power of speech", but they developed the mentioned senses early on. Cognat…

*dʰewbʰ- Proto-Indo-European dumb Old English *dumb Proto-West Germanic *dumbaz Proto-Germanic dumm German dom Dutch

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Register & Style

External links

# dumb

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /dʌm/
**Frequency rank:** 1643

## Meanings
1. Stupid or silly (informal).
2. Unable to speak.
3. So shocked or surprised that you cannot speak.

## Examples
- That was a dumb mistake, and I knew it right away.
- The injury left him deaf and dumb for the rest of his life.
- The terrible news struck her dumb.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *dʰewbʰ-
- Root: dumb
- Root: *dumb
- Root: *dumbaz
- Root: dumm
- Root: dom

## Etymology
From Middle English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, ineffectual”), from Old English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, unable to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *dumb, from Proto-Germanic *dumbaz (“dull, dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). The senses of stupid, unintellectual, and pointless, which are found regularly since the 19th century only, probably developed under the influence of German dumm and Dutch dom. Just like the English word, these originally meant "lacking the power of speech", but they developed the mentioned senses early on. Cognat…

## AI Etymology
Dumb comes from Middle English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, ineffectual”), from Old English dumb (“silent, speechless, mute, unable to speak”), from Proto-West Germanic *dumb, from Proto-Germanic *dumbaz (“dull, dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). The senses of stupid, unintellectual, and pointless, which are found regularly since the 19th century only, probably developed under the influence of German dumm and Dutch dom. Just like the English word, these originally meant "lacking the power of speech", but they developed the mentioned senses early on. Cognat.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Register & Style

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