dumb

Universal Words adjective, verb adjective (dumber, dumbest) 1 (old-fashioned, sometimes offensive) unable to speak: She was born deaf and dumb. HELPNOTE Dumb used in this meaning is old-fashioned and can be offensive. It is better to use speech-impaired instead. 2 temporarily not speaking or refusing to speak: We were all struck dumb with amazement. * We all sat there in dumb silence. 3 (informal, especially AmE) stupid: That was a pretty dumb thing to do. * If the police question you, act dumb (= pretend you do not know anything). * In all her early movies she always played a dumb blonde. dumbly adverb: 'Are you all right?' Laura nodded dumbly. dumbness noun [U] verb PHRASALVERBS dumb down