dunce

[ duhns ]

noun

1. a dull-witted, stupid, or ignorant person; dolt.

   Synonyms: ninny, nincompoop, simpleton, ignoramus, blockhead, numbskull, dullard

dunce

/ dʌns /

noun

1. a person who is stupid or slow to learn

Derived Forms

• ˈdunceˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• dunci·cal duncish adjective
• duncish·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunce¹

1520–30; after John Duns Scotus, whose writings were attacked by the humanists as foolish

Word History and Origins

Origin of dunce¹

C16: from Dunses or Dunsmen, term of ridicule applied to the followers of John Duns Scotus , especially by 16th-century humanists

Example Sentences

During the Iran-Contra scandal, of which Reagan insisted he didn’t recall anything, Phil Hartman played him as an amiable dunce when Jimmy Stewart is visiting, but behind closed doors he’s orchestrating the whole scam: computing bribes in his head, speaking Farsi.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s about as academically relevant to today’s students as Sadie Hawkins Day, and as necessary as a dunce cap.

From Los Angeles Times

“That’s where the wall drawings and the early sculptures, like ‘Big Dunce,’ came from.”

From New York Times

Education and school references have long peppered his work, as in 1989’s “Big Dunce,” the earliest work in the MCA show, a sculpture of a tall white hood, meant to evoke the Ku Klux Klan, on top of a stool in a corner.

From New York Times

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

Related Words

• clodpoll