dum

a. [ AS. dumb; akin to D. dom stupid, dumb, Sw. dumb, Goth. dumbs; cf. Gr. &unr_; blind. See Deaf, and cf. Dummy. ] 1. Destitute of the power of speech; unable; to utter articulate sounds; as, the dumb brutes. [ 1913 Webster ]

To unloose the very tongues even of dumb creatures. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not willing to speak; mute; silent; not speaking; not accompanied by words; as, dumb show. [ 1913 Webster ]

This spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To pierce into the dumb past. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Lacking brightness or clearness, as a color. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Her stern was painted of a dumb white or dun color. De Foe. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Lacking intelligence; having poor judgment; stupid; dull-witted; -- of persons. [ PJC ]

5. Exhibiting poor judgment or lack of wisdom; leading predictably to unfavorable consequences; -- of actions. [ PJC ]

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. Halliwell. --
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.” Shak. (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.

Syn. -- Silent; speechless; noiseless. See Mute. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To put to silence. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An exercising weight, consisting of two spheres or spheroids, connected by a short bar for a handle; used (often in pairs) for gymnastic exercise. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An ignorant or foolish person.
Syn. -- dummy, dope, boob, booby, pinhead. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. To render simpler, so as to be comprehensible or usable by unintelligent people; to simplify; -- of texts or devices.
[ PJC ]

v. t. same as dumfound.
Syn. -- confuse, perplex, throw, fox, befuddle, fuddle, bedevil, puzzle, mystify, baffle, bewilder, flummox, stupefy, stupify, nonplus, gravel, amaze, trounce, confound, be confusing to, make confused. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. same as astounded.
Syn. -- amazed, astonied, astonished, astounded, flabbergasted, stunned, stupefied, thunderstruck. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. astonished and confounded.
Syn. -- amazed, dumfounded. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. causing astonishment. [ Narrower terms: incredible (vs. credible), unbelievable ]
Syn. -- astonishing, astounding, dumfounding. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ The first part is prob. of imitative origin. See Dor a beetle. ] (Zool.) A bumblebee; also, a cockchafer. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]