Meaning

(dated) Unable to speak; lacking power of speech..

Definitions by Sense

1. (dated) Unable to speak; lacking power of speech.
2. (archaic) Not talkative; taciturn or unwilling to speak.
3. (dated) Having no input or voice in running things.
4. (dated, of things, actions, etc.) Unaccompanied by words or speech, silent, wordless.
5. (dated) Not producing any sound, silent.
6. (informal, derogatory, especially of a person) Stupid.
7. (figuratively) Pointless, foolish, lacking intellectual content or value.
8. Lacking some functionality or property ordinarily characteristic of its kind.

Example Sentences

deaf, dumb, and blind

His younger brother was born dumb, and communicated with sign language.

to unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures

The country people frequently ſay,—How can you treat a poor dumb beaſt ill; and a ſtreſs is very properly laid on the word dumb; for dumb they appear to thoſe who do not obſerve their looks and geſtures; but God, who takes care of every thing, underſtands their language...

We are dumb and we would talk

It is true, there is Turkish of which I had picked up a few phrases, and there is Chinese of which I did not understand a single word. But I had no fear of remaining dumb in Turkestan and the Celestial Empire.

Deaf and blind and dumb and born to follow / What you need is someone strong to guide you

Life was never a May-game for men; in all times the lot of the dumb-millions born to toil was defaced with manifold sufferings, injustices, heavy burdens, avoidable and unavoidable; not play at all, but hard work that made the sinews sore, and the heart sore.

Word Forms

• dumber
• dumbest
• dumbs
• dumbing
• dumbed
• more dumb
• most dumb

Synonyms for dumb

Antonyms for dumb

Related Words

When Should You Use Dumb?

Use dumb when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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