dumb down
verb
dumbed down; dumbing down; dumbs down
: to lower the level of difficulty and the intellectual content of (something, such as a textbook)
also
: to lower the general level of intelligence in
the dumbing down of society
Examples of dumb down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This is clearly an assault on learning by the White House and an attempt to dumb down the national population.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 20 July 2025
State and local leaders should also roll back any guidance that is meant to force teachers to dumb down curriculums or provide passing grades to students who are failing or inflate grades across the board.
—Carrie Lukas, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
The new console could certainly handle it, even if developers had to dumb down the graphics a smidge.
—Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Why dumb down what was once a sophisticated and nuanced show?
—Rich Heldenfels, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2025
Build authentic LinkedIn content: skip the AI shortcuts Don't let AI dumb down your message.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Why dumb down what was once a sophisticated and nuanced show?
—Rich Heldenfels, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2025
The president-elect tends to avoid details—during his first term, aides learned to dumb down their presentations with bullet points.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Where there other ideas about how to dumb down Sage?
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 20 June 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 20 July 2025
State and local leaders should also roll back any guidance that is meant to force teachers to dumb down curriculums or provide passing grades to students who are failing or inflate grades across the board.
—Carrie Lukas, Forbes.com, 9 July 2025
The new console could certainly handle it, even if developers had to dumb down the graphics a smidge.
—Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Why dumb down what was once a sophisticated and nuanced show?
—Rich Heldenfels, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2025
Build authentic LinkedIn content: skip the AI shortcuts Don't let AI dumb down your message.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2025
Why dumb down what was once a sophisticated and nuanced show?
—Rich Heldenfels, Boston Herald, 9 Mar. 2025
The president-elect tends to avoid details—during his first term, aides learned to dumb down their presentations with bullet points.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Where there other ideas about how to dumb down Sage?
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 20 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Dumb down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumb%20down. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
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