dunce cap
noun
: a conical cap formerly used as a punishment for slow learners at school
called also dunce's cap
Examples of dunce cap in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The counterrevolutionaries were forced to confess their crimes; Red Guards placed tall white-paper dunce caps on their heads and heavy wooden plaques around their necks, listing their names and their misdeeds.
—
Weijian Shan, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2019
Many, especially the older ones, reported that their prior experience of treatment was being screamed at or being made to scrub floors with toothbrushes and wear dunce caps.
—Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
But the dunce cap becomes more sinister when compared to the row of clothes hanging across from it: children-sized Ku Klux Klan robes.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2024
In the corner, a comically tall white dunce cap sits, ready for some misbehaved student to be ridiculed with it.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2024
Ironically, she was punished in school for not being able to keep quiet and put in a corner with a dunce cap on her head.
—Dallas News, 30 Jan. 2023
But the year's dunce cap goes to Toyota's first mainstream EV, the bZ4X. Don't blame the bZ4X's absurd name or Toyota's slow foray into electrics for this honor.
—Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 1 Jan. 2023
In a famous drawing, Gillray shows the Doctor wearing a kind of dunce cap and being pursued by Apollo and the Muses, who seem eager to thrash him for his critical judgments.
—William Anthony Hay, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2022
The dunce cap lifts the mood of any good gathering with a little healthy self-deprication.
—Mark Stock, Men's Health, 16 Nov. 2022
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.
Weijian Shan, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2019
Many, especially the older ones, reported that their prior experience of treatment was being screamed at or being made to scrub floors with toothbrushes and wear dunce caps.
—Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
But the dunce cap becomes more sinister when compared to the row of clothes hanging across from it: children-sized Ku Klux Klan robes.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2024
In the corner, a comically tall white dunce cap sits, ready for some misbehaved student to be ridiculed with it.
—Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2024
Ironically, she was punished in school for not being able to keep quiet and put in a corner with a dunce cap on her head.
—Dallas News, 30 Jan. 2023
But the year's dunce cap goes to Toyota's first mainstream EV, the bZ4X. Don't blame the bZ4X's absurd name or Toyota's slow foray into electrics for this honor.
—Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 1 Jan. 2023
In a famous drawing, Gillray shows the Doctor wearing a kind of dunce cap and being pursued by Apollo and the Muses, who seem eager to thrash him for his critical judgments.
—William Anthony Hay, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2022
The dunce cap lifts the mood of any good gathering with a little healthy self-deprication.
—Mark Stock, Men's Health, 16 Nov. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near dunce cap
Cite this Entry
“Dunce cap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dunce%20cap. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share