as in shushing
to stop the noise or speech of
the terrible news dumbed her for a long moment, and then she burst into tears
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dumbing
Verb
-
In the clip, the then-6-year-old can be seen walking with his iPad to the next room and shushing everyone.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
10 Oct. 2025 -
Booing begins, and then shushing, and then booing again.—
Matthew Shen Goodman,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Dozens of pending lawsuits accuse churches of shielding predators, silencing victims and allowing abuse to fester unchecked.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The British did not have legislation as all-silencing as this.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The newsroom union claims the change is throttling staff diversity and muting the magazine’s progressive political bent.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Nov. 2025
-
And Democrats will remain the side fond of muting dissent.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Blue Jays went on to stun the Dodgers that night, taking the first game 11-4 and quieting early speculation that they would be swept in four games by the defending champs.—
Paula Newton,
CNN Money,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The Tresemmé Lamellar Gloss Finishing Oil is what stands between you and shampoo-ad levels of shine, locking in luster and quieting frizz with its mix of sunflower, coconut, and macadamia oils.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
North Carolina Electric Cooperatives estimates that heating can eat up as much as half of a home’s energy use, and with fall settling in, that can mean steeper bills ahead.—
Evan Moore,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Soika, a surgeon, unsuccessfully tried to book a rental car to get to Utah for a weekend trip before settling on an option that seemed straight out of Hollywood.—
JOSH FUNK,
Arkansas Online,
8 Nov. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Dumbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dumbing. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share