How to Use dumb in a Sentence

dumb

1 of 2 adjective
  • It was a dumb idea in the first place.
  • He was born deaf and dumb.
  • He just stood there with a dumb grin on his face.
  • It was dumb luck that we found this place at all.
  • I'm not dumb enough to believe that.
  • His success is just a matter of dumb luck.
  • This is one of the dumbest TV shows I've ever seen.
  • That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.
    Dylan Owens, The Know, 3 Apr. 2017
  • Bryan, who is way too old to be on this show, speaks in Spanish, which is dumb because Rachel speaks English.
    Abby Draper, baltimoresun.com, 23 May 2017
  • This appointment looks like the height of dumb cronyism from pretty much all angles.
    Richard Lawson, Vanities, 16 June 2017
  • Growing up in Cleveland, Cohn was severely dyslexic, which at the time just meant dumb.
    Jessica Pressler, Daily Intelligencer, 11 June 2017
  • This isn’t as simple as saying this player or that one was dumb for getting arrested on a DUI charge.
    Geoff Baker, The Seattle Times, 30 Apr. 2017
  • Right-wing media is so eager to run with Griffin’s dumb stunt because it can be used to paint the entire resistance.
    Alex Shephard, New Republic, 31 May 2017
  • Tuco Saladonka Harambe Thank you for reading this dumb list.
    Zach Buchanan, Cincinnati.com, 29 June 2017
  • Bent over row and dead lift:(Requires two dumb bells that are of a moderate weight) Stand with feet shoulder width apart, and hold dumbbells horizontally in front of your quads.
    Joanne Kempinger Demski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10 May 2017
  • For playing such smart basketball, the Warriors can be really dumb.
    Bud Shaw, cleveland.com, 10 June 2017
  • The girls having some kind of intervention is about as dumb as believing Elena could be president of the United States.
    Terra Jolé, PEOPLE.com, 22 June 2017
  • The story about the connection between Russia and the Donald Trump presidential campaign is either the most elaborate cover-up of all time, or the dumbest.
    WSJ, 2 Mar. 2017
  • KSTP-Channel 5 broke the story citing an anonymous regent as the source, which if true would mark perhaps the dumbest request for anonymity in the history of journalism because there are only 12 regents.
    John Shipley, Twin Cities, 15 May 2017
  • It was a dumb idea in the first place.
  • He was born deaf and dumb.
  • He just stood there with a dumb grin on his face.
  • It was dumb luck that we found this place at all.
  • I'm not dumb enough to believe that.
  • His success is just a matter of dumb luck.
  • This is one of the dumbest TV shows I've ever seen.
  • That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball.
    Dylan Owens, The Know, 3 Apr. 2017
  • Bryan, who is way too old to be on this show, speaks in Spanish, which is dumb because Rachel speaks English.
    Abby Draper, baltimoresun.com, 23 May 2017
  • This appointment looks like the height of dumb cronyism from pretty much all angles.
    Richard Lawson, Vanities, 16 June 2017
  • Growing up in Cleveland, Cohn was severely dyslexic, which at the time just meant dumb.
    Jessica Pressler, Daily Intelligencer, 11 June 2017
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dumb

2 of 2 verb
  • Winston had to dumb it down to a few dozen basic sentences.
    Andy Rosen, BostonGlobe.com, 2 June 2018
  • Many thought Ross wanted girls to pretend to like things to get a guy to crush on them, or even dumb themselves down so guys can feel like teachers.
    Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 6 Nov. 2018
  • The filmmakers wanted all of the satire, but dumbed it down enough to appeal to a mass audience in the cutthroat summer blockbuster season.
    cleveland.com, 15 Feb. 2018
  • One concern has been whether doctors might have to dumb down their notes for patients, or whether patients might get too distressed by reading what their doctors say about them.
    Laura Landro, WSJ, 28 Feb. 2017
  • And are cultural institutions in danger of dumbing down in an effort to draw crowds?
    Clive Martin, CNN, 12 May 2017
  • Even before 2016, some critics accused the GOP of self-consciously dumbing itself down.
    Charles J. Sykes, Time, 5 Oct. 2017
  • The strats worried about being dumbed down, employees say, while the I.T. engineers worried about being marginalized.
    Nathaniel Popper, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2016
  • Is the technology dumbing things down, pandering to the selfie generation, and preventing visitors from being in the moment?
    Julia Buckley, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Dec. 2017
  • One former Pompeo aide attributed the success to Pompeo's keen ability to distill complex issues and convey them clearly and directly, without dumbing them down.
    Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 14 Mar. 2018
  • Winston had to dumb it down to a few dozen basic sentences.
    Andy Rosen, BostonGlobe.com, 2 June 2018
  • Many thought Ross wanted girls to pretend to like things to get a guy to crush on them, or even dumb themselves down so guys can feel like teachers.
    Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 6 Nov. 2018
  • The filmmakers wanted all of the satire, but dumbed it down enough to appeal to a mass audience in the cutthroat summer blockbuster season.
    cleveland.com, 15 Feb. 2018
  • One concern has been whether doctors might have to dumb down their notes for patients, or whether patients might get too distressed by reading what their doctors say about them.
    Laura Landro, WSJ, 28 Feb. 2017
  • And are cultural institutions in danger of dumbing down in an effort to draw crowds?
    Clive Martin, CNN, 12 May 2017
  • Even before 2016, some critics accused the GOP of self-consciously dumbing itself down.
    Charles J. Sykes, Time, 5 Oct. 2017
  • The strats worried about being dumbed down, employees say, while the I.T. engineers worried about being marginalized.
    Nathaniel Popper, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2016
  • Is the technology dumbing things down, pandering to the selfie generation, and preventing visitors from being in the moment?
    Julia Buckley, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Dec. 2017
  • One former Pompeo aide attributed the success to Pompeo's keen ability to distill complex issues and convey them clearly and directly, without dumbing them down.
    Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 14 Mar. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dumb.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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