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Dumb vs Sun - What's the difference?

dumb | sun |

As an adjective dumb

is (label) unable to speak; lacking power of speech.

As a verb dumb

is to silence.

dumb

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) dumb, from (etyl) . In ordinary spoken English, a phrase like "He is dumb" is interpreted as "He is stupid" rather than "He lacks the power of speech". The latter example, however, is the original sense of the word. The senses of stupid'', ''unintellectual'', and ''pointless developed under the influence of the (etyl) word dumm.

Adjective

(er)
  • (label) Unable to speak; lacking power of speech.
  • * Hooker
  • to unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures
  • (label) Silent; unaccompanied by words.
  • dumb show
  • * Shakespeare
  • This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him.
  • *
  • * J. C. Shairp
  • to pierce into the dumb past
  • extremely stupid.
  • You are so dumb ! You don't even know how to make toast!
  • (label) Pointless, foolish, lacking intellectual content or value.
  • This is dumb ! We're driving in circles! We should have asked for directions an hour ago!
    Brendan had the dumb job of moving boxes from one conveyor belt to another.
  • Lacking brightness or clearness, as a colour.
  • * De Foe
  • Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color.
    Synonyms
    * (unable to speak) dumbstruck, mute, speechless, wordless * (stupid) feeble-minded, idiotic, moronic, stupid * banal, brainless, dopey, silly, stupid, ridiculous, vulgar
    Derived terms
    * dumb as a box of rocks * dumben * dumbhood * dummy * dumbness

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) dumbien, from (etyl) dumbian (more commonly in compound .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To silence.
  • * 1911 , Lindsay Swift, William Lloyd Garrison , p. 272,
  • The paralysis of the Northern conscience, the dumbing of the Northern voice, were coming to an end.
  • To make stupid.
  • * 2003 , Angela Calabrese Barton, Teaching Science for Social Justice , p. 124,
  • I think she's dumbing us down, so we won't be smarter than her.
  • To represent as stupid.
  • * 2004 , Stephen Oppenheimer, The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey Out of Africa , p. 107,
  • Bad-mouthing Neanderthals . . . is symptomatic of a need to exclude and even demonize. . . . I suggest that the unproven dumbing of the Neanderthals is an example of the same cultural preconception.
  • To reduce the intellectual demands of.
  • * 2002 , Deborah Meier, In Schools We Trust: Creating Communities of Learning in an Era of Testing , p. 126,
  • The ensuing storm caused the department to lower the bar—amid protests that this was dumbing the test down—so that only 80 percent of urban kids would fail.
    Derived terms
    * dumbness * dumb blonde * dumb down * dumbocracy * dumb-show * dumb terminal * dummy * play dumb

    sun

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (sense) (capitalized) Sun

    Proper noun

  • The star that the Earth revolves around and from which it receives light and warmth.The Illustrated Oxford Dictionary , Oxford University Press, 1998
  • *
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage='Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.}}
    Usage notes
    * The Sun is traditionally regarded as masculine.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (astronomy) A star, especially when seen as the centre of any single solar system.
  • The light and warmth which is received from the sun.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Lambs that did frisk in the sun .
  • Something like the sun in brightness or splendor.Webster's College Dictionary , Random House, 2001
  • * Bible, Psalms lxxiv. 11
  • For the Lord God is a sun and shield.
  • * Eikon Basilike
  • I will never consent to put out the sun of sovereignity to posterity.
  • (chiefly, literary) Sunrise or sunset.
  • *
  • *, p.184 (republished 1832):
  • *:whilst many an hunger-starved poor creature pines in the street, wants clothes to cover him, labours hard all day long, runs, rides for a trifle, fights peradventure from sun' to ' sun , sick and ill, weary, full of pain and grief, is in great distress and sorrow of heart.
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Derived terms

    * everything under the sun * sunbath * sunbathe * sunblock * sunburn * sun cream * sun cure * sun deck * sundial * sundown * sunflower * sunglass * sunglasses * sun god * sun hat * sun lamp * sunlight * sunly * sunny * sun protection factor * sunrise * sunscreen * sunset * sunshine * sun shower * sunspot * sunstead * sunstroke * suntan * sunup * sun visor * talk about everything under the sun

    Verb

    (sunn)
  • To expose to the warmth and radiation of the sun.
  • *
  • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines. A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes.}}
  • To warm or dry in the sunshine.
  • To be exposed to the sun.
  • To expose the eyes to the sun as part of the Bates method.
  • See also

    * aphelion * helio- * parhelion * perihelion * solar * sunn

    References

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    Anagrams

    * * 1000 English basic words ----