What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Will vs Dumb - What's the difference?

will | dumb |

As a proper noun will

is also used as a formal given name.

As a noun will

is (american football) a weak-side linebacker.

As an adjective dumb is

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

As a verb dumb is

to silence.

will

English

(wikipedia will)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) wille, from (etyl) . Cognate with Dutch wil, German Wille, Swedish vilja. The verb is not always distinguishable from Etymology 2, below.

Noun

(en noun)
  • (archaic) Desire, longing. (Now generally merged with later senses.)
    • He felt a great will to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
  • One's independent faculty of choice; the ability to be able to exercise one's choice or intention.
    • Of course, man's will is often regulated by his reason.
  • One's intention or decision; someone's orders or commands.
    • Eventually I submitted to my parents' will .
  • (archaic) That which is desired; one's wish.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.ii:
    • I auow by this most sacred head / Of my deare foster child, to ease thy griefe, / And win thy will [...].
  • The act of choosing to do something; a person’s conscious intent or volition.
    • Most creatures have a will to live.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2012 , date=May 27 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992) , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=The episode’s unwillingness to fully commit to the pathos of the Bart-and-Laura subplot is all the more frustrating considering its laugh quota is more than filled by a rollicking B-story that finds Homer, he of the iron stomach and insatiable appetite, filing a lawsuit against The Frying Dutchman when he’s hauled out of the eatery against his will after consuming all of the restaurant’s shrimp (plus two plastic lobsters).}}
  • A formal declaration of one's intent concerning the disposal of one's property and holdings after death; the legal document stating such wishes.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne
    • , title=Well Tackled! , chapter=1 citation , passage=“Uncle Barnaby was always father and mother to me,” Benson broke in; then after a pause his mind flew off at a tangent. “Is old Hannah all right—in the will , I mean?”}}
    Usage notes
    * Can be said to be strong, free, independent, etc.
    Derived terms
    * at will * wilful, willful * willpower * with a will

    Verb

  • (archaic) To wish, desire.
  • * Bible, Matthew viii. 2
    • And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord if thou wilt , thou canst make me clean.
  • (intransitive) To instruct (that something be done) in one's will.
  • To try to make (something) happen by using one's will (intention).
    • All the fans were willing their team to win the game.
  • * Shakespeare
    • They willed me say so, madam.
  • * Beaumont and Fletcher
    • Send for music, / And will the cooks to use their best of cunning / To please the palate.
  • To bequeath (something) to someone in one's will (legal document).
    • He willed his stamp collection to the local museum.
    Synonyms
    * (bequeath) bequeath, leave

    See also

    * bequeath * going to * modal verb * testament * volition * voluntary

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) willen, wullen, wollen, from (etyl) willan, .It is not always distinguishable from Etymology 1, above.

    Verb

  • (rare) To wish, desire (something).
  • * 1944 , FJ Sheed, translating St. Augustine, Confessions :
    • Grant what Thou dost command, and command what Thou wilt .
  • (rare) To wish or desire (that something happen); to intend (that).
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, trans. Bible , Matthew XXVI:
    • the disciples cam to Jesus sayinge unto hym: where wylt thou that we prepare for the to eate the ester lambe?
  • *:
    • see God's goodwill toward men, hear how generally his grace is proposed, to him, and him, and them, each man in particular, and to all. 1 Tim. ii. 4. "God will that all men be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth."
  • (auxiliary) To habitually do (a given action).
  • * 1994 , Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom , Abacus 2010, p. 28:
    • As young men will , I did my best to appear suave and sophisticated.
  • * 2009 , Stephen Bayley, The Telegraph , 24 Sep 09:
    • How telling is it that many women will volunteer for temporary disablement by wearing high heeled shoes that hobble them?
  • * 2011 , "Connubial bliss in America", The Economist :
    • So far neither side has scored a decisive victory, though each will occasionally claim one.
  • (auxiliary) To choose to (do something), used to express intention but without any temporal connotations (+ bare infinitive).
  • (auxiliary) Used to express the future tense, formerly with some implication of volition when used in first person. Compare (shall).
  • * (rfdate) William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Or What You Will , act IV:
    • Good fool, as ever thou wilt deserve well at my hand, help me to a candle, and pen, ink and paper : as I am a gentleman, I will live to be thankful to thee for’t.
  • * (rfdate) Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo , chapter LXXIII:
    • “I will' rejoin you, and we ' will fly ; but from this moment until then, let us not tempt Providence, Morrel; let us not see each other; it is a miracle, it is a providence that we have not been discovered; if we were surprised, if it were known that we met thus, we should have no further resource.”
  • (auxiliary) To be able to, to have the capacity to.
    • Unfortunately, only one of these gloves will actually fit over my hand.
    Usage notes
    * Historically, will' was used in the simple future sense only in the second and third person, while ''shall'' was used in the first person. Today, that distinction is almost entirely lost, and the verb takes the same form in all persons and both numbers. Similarly, in the intent sense, '''will was historically used with the second and third person, while ''shall was reserved for the first person. * Historically, the present tense is will' and the past tense is '''would'''. Early Modern English had a past participle ' would which is now obsolete. :: Malory, ‘Many tymes he myghte haue had her and he had wold’ ; John Done, ‘If hee had would, hee might easily [...] occupied the Monarchy.’ * Formerly, will could be used elliptically for "will go" — e.g. "I'll to her lodgings" (Marlowe). * See the usage note at shall . * The present participle does not apply to the uses of will as an auxiliary verb.
    See also
    *

    Statistics

    * 100 English basic words English auxiliary verbs English defective verbs English irregular verbs 1000 English basic words ----

    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