dumbness
noun
Forms dumbnesses dumbnesse
- noun (dated, now offensive) The state of being mute: that is, of not communicating vocally, whether from selective mutism (refusal to speak) or from an inability to speak.
- noun (dated) Muteness, silence; abstention from speech.
- noun (dated) Show or gesture without words; pantomime; dumb-show.
- noun (informal) The quality of being stupid or foolish.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English dombenesse, from Old English dumbnes; equivalent to dumb + -ness. Cognate with Old Frisian dumbnisse (“folly, dumbness”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “dumbness”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details