Etymology From Middle English dumben, from Old English *dumbian (found in the compound ādumbian (“to become mute or dumb; keep silence; hold one’s peace”)), from Proto-Germanic *dumbijaną, *dumbōną (“to be silent, become dumb”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”). Cognate with German verdummen (“to become dumb”).
[…] what I would have spoke Was beastly dumbed by him.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:
The paralysis of the Northern conscience, the dumbing of the Northern voice, were coming to an end.1911, Lindsay Swift, William Lloyd Garrison, page 272:
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To make stupid.
I think she's dumbing us down, so we won't be smarter than her.2003, Angela Calabrese Barton, Teaching Science for Social Justice, page 124:
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To represent as stupid.
Bad-mouthing Neanderthals […] is symptomatic of a need to exclude and even demonize. […] I suggest that the unproven dumbing of the Neanderthals is an example of the same cultural preconception.2004, Stephen Oppenheimer, The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey Out of Africa, page 107:
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To reduce the intellectual demands of.
The ensuing storm caused the department to lower the bar—amid protests that this was dumbing the test down—so that only 80 percent of urban kids would fail.2002, Deborah Meier, In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing, page 126:
"What, you don't like your food?" Russo asks. ¶ "Are you kidding? It's dumb good."2017, Don Winslow, The Force, London: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, page 134:
Yo this shit is crazy how these females are making these doctors rich. My baby moms Miracle is getting surgery in a week or so. She's flying out to Colombia. That shit really baffles me as far as she's concerned, because Miracle is already dumb thick. I'm like damn ma, how big do you want your ass to be?2019, Natisha Raynor, She Made a Savage Change His Ways 2, Atlanta, G.A.: Royalty Publishing House, →ISBN, page 4:
Mnemonic An acronym for remembering desirable characteristics for goal-setting: dream-driven, uplifting, method-driven, behavior-driven.
Whatever your goals, starting with a DUMB goal gives a great outline and starting off point to start building your plan of action.2023 January 23, Jana Arevalo, “How to set DUMB goals”, in The Organized Military Life, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2023:
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. Cognates Cognate with Scots dumb (“dumb, silent”), North Frisian dom, domme (“dumb, stupid”), West Frisian dom (“dumb, stupid”), Dutch dom (“dumb, stupid”), German dumm (“dumb, stupid”), Danish dum (“stupid”), Swedish dum (“stupid”), Icelandic dumbur (“dumb, mute”). See also deaf.
His younger brother was born dumb, and communicated with sign language.
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to unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
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...1788, Mary Wollstonecraft, chapter 2, in Original Stories from Real Life (Children's literature), London: J. Johnson, published 1796, pages 10–11:
We are dumb and we would talk1884 January 5, “Mighty maiden with a mission”, in W. S. Gilbert (lyrics), Arthur Sullivan (music), Princess Ida, performed by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, London, page 48:
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.a. 1905, anonymous translator, The Adventures of a Special Correspondent Among the Various Races and Countries of Central Asia, translation of Claudius Bombarnac by Jules Verne:
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Archaic Not talkative; taciturn or unwilling to speak.
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.1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “Democracy”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book III (The Modern Worker), page 210:
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Dated, Usually, Of things Unaccompanied by words or speech, silent, wordless.
dumb show
Since you are tongue-tied and so loath to speak In dumb significants proclaim your thoughts1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
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O let my books be then the eloquence And dumb presagers of my speaking breast […]1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 23”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC:
to pierce into the dumb past1881, John Campbell Shairp, Aspects of Poetry:
[…] Thro’ lands where not a leaf was dumb; But all the lavish hills would hum The murmur of a happy Pan: […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXIII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 39:
Dated An intensifier expressing contempt; damn, damned.
African-American Vernacular
Pap came to stand beside her and watched the two play. "That pup has just plum' fell in love with our Sammy, an' Sam's real took by him," Pap said. "It's a dumb shame, too. I talked to Jim, but he's not of a mind to sell."2002, Glenna Whiteaker Wilding, Tales of a Ridgerunner: The Adventures of a Young Family Growing Up in the East Tennessee Mountains, 1890s - 1920s, Prospect, K.Y.: Harmony House Publishers, →ISBN, page 95: