dunce
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- duncelike adjective
- duncical adjective
- duncish adjective
- duncishly adverb
Etymology
Origin of dunce
1520–30; after John Duns Scotus, whose writings were attacked by the humanists as foolish
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If you do think that he could, please step forward and claim your complimentary dunce cap, and infuse it with your own naivete.
From Salon • May 5, 2023
Recall children in dunce caps, perjurers in pillories, adulterers branded with scarlet letters.
From New York Times • Mar. 18, 2022
In my view, the biggest mistake scientists make is to claim that this is all somehow simple and therefore to imply that anyone who doesn't get it is a dunce.
From Scientific American • Jul. 8, 2021
A guy in a dunce cap is lying on the couch, troubled.
From Washington Post • Sep. 10, 2020
Then Jordan slapped the doll onto Alex’s head like a dunce cap.
From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
