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Dumb   /dəm/   Listen
adjective
Dumb  adj.  
1.
Destitute of the power of speech; unable; to utter articulate sounds; as, the dumb brutes. "To unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures."
2.
Not willing to speak; mute; silent; not speaking; not accompanied by words; as, dumb show. "This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him." "To pierce into the dumb past."
3.
Lacking brightness or clearness, as a color. (R.) "Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color."
4.
Lacking intelligence; having poor judgment; stupid; dull-witted; of persons.
5.
Exhibiting poor judgment or lack of wisdom; leading predictably to unfavorable consequences; of actions.
Deaf and dumb. See Deaf-mute.
Dumb ague, or Dumb chill, a form of intermittent fever which has no well-defined "chill." (U.S.)
Dumb animal, any animal except man; usually restricted to a domestic quadruped; so called in contradistinction to man, who is a "speaking animal."
Dumb cake, a cake made in silence by girls on St. Mark's eve, with certain mystic ceremonies, to discover their future husbands.
Dumb cane (Bot.), a west Indian plant of the Arum family (Dieffenbachia seguina), which, when chewed, causes the tongue to swell, and destroys temporarily the power of speech.
Dumb crambo. See under crambo.
Dumb show.
(a)
Formerly, a part of a dramatic representation, shown in pantomime. "Inexplicable dumb shows and noise."
(b)
Signs and gestures without words; as, to tell a story in dumb show.
To strike dumb, to confound; to astonish; to render silent by astonishment; or, it may be, to deprive of the power of speech.
Synonyms: Silent; speechless; noiseless. See Mute.


verb
Dumb  v. t.  To put to silence. (Obs.)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Dumb" Quotes from Famous Books



... Kafka, advancing suddenly a step forwards from between the slabs. "Do with me? Do you speak of me as though I were a dog—a dumb animal—but ...
— The Witch of Prague • F. Marion Crawford
... not prove his point. Savages are more demonstrative in their expression of all their emotions than we are; but this does not indicate that their emotions are deeper. On the contrary, as the poet has told us, it is the shallow brooks and the shallow passions that murmur; "the deep are dumb." It is a rule of etiquette in civilized society to repress any extravagant demonstration of feeling by gestures; and this is the reason why we are apparently less affected by music than savages. Yet, how difficult it is even to-day to repress the muscular impulses imparted ...
— Chopin and Other Musical Essays • Henry T. Finck
... nightfall is beginning to be felt, and the shepherdess wears a hood and cape. Her face shows her to be a dreamer. These long days in the open air give her many visions to dream of. Her companionship with dumb creatures makes her more thoughtful, perhaps, than many girls ...
— Jean Francois Millet • Estelle M. Hurll
... look after the cattle like a man, and keep up the fires, for there's a storm brewin', and neither the children nor dumb critters must suffer," said Mr. Bassett, as he turned up the collar of his rough coat and put on his blue mittens, while the old mare shook her bells as if she preferred a trip to Keene ...
— Aunt Jo's Scrap-Bag VI - An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, Etc. • Louisa M. Alcott
... an iron Fate lorded it, with dumb force, over the widespread families of men. A gloomy oppression swathed their anxious souls: the Earth was boundless, the abode of the gods and their home. From eternal ages stood its mysterious structure. Beyond ...
— Rampolli • George MacDonald


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