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
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
Whoever has decided to dumb down America has done a really good job.
—Jordan Riefe, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Business Column: Red-state efforts to dumb down their universities will provoke a brain drain
May 2, 2023
GOP legislators in Wisconsin held hostage $800 million in funding for the state university and blocked all staff pay raises unless the university cut back DEI programs.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
But Jason didn’t dumb down any of his writing.
—New York Times, 15 Aug. 2022
His knack for skewering Broadway’s smash hits and for commenting on its craven tendencies to dumb down for and rip off its customers is unparalleled.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2022
Angela Merkel, chancellor when the pandemic started, holds a doctorate in quantum chemistry and refused to dumb down science while addressing the public.
—Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Feb. 2022
Yet the Biden Administration is mounting a regulatory assault on business, while progressives dumb down math and science with a woke curriculum.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Where there other ideas about how to dumb down Sage?
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 20 June 2024
Whoever has decided to dumb down America has done a really good job.
—Jordan Riefe, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Business Column: Red-state efforts to dumb down their universities will provoke a brain drain
May 2, 2023
GOP legislators in Wisconsin held hostage $800 million in funding for the state university and blocked all staff pay raises unless the university cut back DEI programs.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
But Jason didn’t dumb down any of his writing.
—New York Times, 15 Aug. 2022
His knack for skewering Broadway’s smash hits and for commenting on its craven tendencies to dumb down for and rip off its customers is unparalleled.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2022
Angela Merkel, chancellor when the pandemic started, holds a doctorate in quantum chemistry and refused to dumb down science while addressing the public.
—Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Feb. 2022
Yet the Biden Administration is mounting a regulatory assault on business, while progressives dumb down math and science with a woke curriculum.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Dumb down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumb%20down. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.
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