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Usage of dumb
Adjective
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.
Examples
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
First Known Use
Adjective
before 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a
Verb
1599, in the meaning defined above
History and Etymology
Adjective and Verb
Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German tumb mute
dumb
verb

Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 1 of 2)

adjective

Synonyms & Antonyms (Entry 2 of 2)