dumb
part of speech
adjective (dumb, dumber, dumbest)
meaning for a pupil
1) In everyday talk, especially in the USA, dumb means stupid or silly, and it is a rude word for a person. tree →
2) In older English, dumb meant not able to speak; this use is now hurtful and people say «non-speaking» or «unable to speak» instead. tree →
3) To be struck dumb means to be so surprised that you cannot say anything for a moment. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories it may show a character calling an idea or thing silly («a dumb mistake») or being too shocked to speak. In school pupils learn it is unkind to call a person dumb. Phrases: «a dumb idea», «struck dumb», «dumb luck» (pure luck), «play dumb» (pretend not to know).
examples
- That was a dumb mistake; I forgot to carry the one. tree →
- It's unkind to call anyone dumb. tree →
- She was struck dumb when she saw the surprise party. tree →
- He played dumb when Mum asked who ate the cake. tree →
- We won by dumb luck, not by skill. tree →
- I felt dumb when I put my shoes on the wrong feet. tree →
- Animals are sometimes called «dumb animals» because they cannot talk, but they are not stupid. tree →
- The lad was dumb with fright. tree →
note
The «b» is silent; it rhymes with «thumb». Calling a person dumb is rude, and using it for people who cannot speak is hurtful and old-fashioned. Saying a mistake was dumb is milder than calling a person dumb.
In the corpora
- A story told by a dog is not dumb: it shows the world from a new viewpoint.
- Woe unto him that saith to the wood: 'Awake', to the dumb stone: 'Arise!' Can this teach?
- Let the lying lips be dumb, which speak arrogantly against the righteous, with pride and contempt.
- But I am as a deaf man, I hear not; and I am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
- I was dumb with silence; I held my peace, had no comfort; and my pain was held in check.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dumb» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.