dumb

adj. stupid or silly.

adj. lacking intelligence or common sense. Highly informal and often derogatory.

“That was a dumb mistake, and I should have checked the map first.”

“It was a remarkably dumb decision to ignore the safety warnings, especially given the high stakes of the project.”

Informal

adj. describes a machine or tool that does not have its own computer brain or 'smart' features.

adj. lacking independent processing power or autonomous 'intelligent' capabilities; often contrasted with 'smart' devices.

“I prefer using a dumb phone because it has fewer distractions than a smartphone.”

“The system relies on dumb terminals that simply display data processed by a central mainframe server.”

Technical

adj. unable to speak; this is an old-fashioned word that some people now find offensive.

adj. physically unable to speak. This sense is increasingly avoided in modern clinical contexts in favour of 'mute'.

“In the old story, the prince was struck dumb by a magic spell.”

“The historical documents refer to the patient as 'deaf and dumb', a terminology that has since been replaced by more sensitive descriptors.”

Archaic

v. to make something easier to understand, often in a way that makes it less intelligent.

v. to simplify something to the point of reducing its intellectual level. Usually used with 'down'.

“The news often dumbs down complex stories to make them more popular.”

“Critics argued that the new curriculum would dumb down the subject matter and fail to challenge the more advanced students.”

Informal

adv. used to mean 'very' or 'extremely' to emphasize an adjective.

adv. used as an intensifier meaning 'extremely' or 'very'.

“That new video game is dumb hard to finish.”

“The exam was dumb easy, so I finished it with twenty minutes to spare.”

Slang · American English