dumb

dumb

adjective

Definition of DUMB

1

deliberately refraining from speech <the mayor has chosen to remain dumb about her activities that night>

Synonyms dumb, mum, mute, muted, speechless, uncommunicative, wordless

Related Words inarticulate, tongue-tied; nonvocal, voiceless; dumbstruck; sulking, sulky, sullen

Near Antonyms articulate, eloquent, fluent, voluble, well-spoken; gabby, garrulous, loquacious, talkative, talky; outspoken, unreserved, vocal; facile, glib, silver-tongued, smooth-tongued

Antonyms communicative, speaking, talking

2

not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily <don't call him dumb just because he makes the occasional mistake like the rest of us>

Synonyms airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey (also dopy), dorky [slang], dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless [chiefly British], half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain (or lamebrained), lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, thick, thickheaded, thick-witted, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless

Related Words cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded; boobish, foolish, idiotic (also idiotical), imbecile (or imbecilic), moronic; ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking; absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky (also kookie), loony (also looney), lunatic, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky (also whacky), zany; fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable

Near Antonyms ingenious, resourceful; acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise; cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read; educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained; crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily; judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound; logical, rational, reasonable, valid

Antonyms apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart

3

tending not to speak frequently (as by habit or inclination) <he prefers to remain dumb, and replies in monosyllables if really pressed>

Synonyms closemouthed, dumb, laconic, reserved, reticent, taciturn, tight-lipped, uncommunicative

Related Words aloof, indrawn, inhibited, introverted, reserved, restrained; sedate, self-contained, sober, staid; backward, bashful, coy, demure, diffident, modest, retiring, self-effacing, sheepish

Near Antonyms free-spoken, outspoken, vocal; gossipy, talebearing; diffuse, long-winded, prolix, rambling, verbose, windy, wordy; extroverted (also extraverted), gregarious, outgoing, sociable

Antonyms blabby, chatty, communicative, conversational, gabby, garrulous, loquacious, motormouthed, mouthy, talkative, talky, unreserved