Standard Lemma guide

dunce

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /dʌns/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ʌns

1

noun

Meaning 1

An unintelligent person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: idiot, addle-brain, addlehead, addle pate, airhead, baboon, beanbrain, beetlebrain, beetlehead, berk, bimbo, birdbrain, blockhead, blubberbrain, bonehead, Boeotian, boob, bozo, brainlet, brickhead, bubblehead, bubble brain, bufflehead, buffoon, Charlie, chowderhead, chucklehead, chump, cittern-head, clod, clodpate, clot, clown, crackhead, cretin, cuckoo, deadhead, dimbo, dim bulb, dimbus, dimwit, dingbat, ding dong, dingleberry, dingwad, dip, dipstick, doldrum, dolt, donut, doodle, doof, doofoid, doofus, dope, dork, drivel, drongo, drool bucket, dullard, dumb bunny, dumbbell, dumb cluck, dumbhead, dumble, dumbling, dumbnut, dumbo, dummkopf, dummy, dunce, dunderhead, dunderpate, eejit, fathead, featherbrain, fenderhead, fleabrain, fool, fopdoodle, galoot, gimboid, gomer, gonk, goober, goof, goofball, goofy, goon, goose, goosecap, gorbuson, gudgeon, halfwit, ha'porth, hammerhead, ignoramus, imbecile, inbred, jackaninny, jellybrain, jerk, juggins, jughead, knothead, knucklehead, lackwit, lamebrain, log, loggerhead, lummox, lunk, lunkhead, maroon, meatball, meathead, mental midget, mome, momo, mongoloid, mongtard, monkey, moron, mouth breather, muggins, mushhead, muttonhead, mutt, nimrod, nincompoop, ninny, ninnyhammer, nit, nitwit, noddy, noodlehead, numbskull, oaf, peabrain, peagoose, pillock, pigwidgeon, pinhead, plank, plonker, prat, put, putz, retard, sap, saphead, schmo, silly, simp, simpleton, smooth brain, snapperhead, sot, space cadet, spanner, stupe, stupid, stupid-head, tard, thickhead, thickskull, thicko, tomfool, tonto, toolbox, tosspot, turkey, twit, wally, wantwit, wazzer, wazzock, witless wonder, yo-yo, zany, Vulgar:, ass, assclown, asshat, asshead, asstard, asswipe, buttbreath, dildo, dipshit, donkey dick, Alternative spelling of dumbass., dumbfuck, dumbfucker, dumbshit, farthead, fuck-knuckle, fucktard, fuckwit, jackass, peckerhead, shitbrain, shithead, shitneck, shitwit, twat

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a stupid person; these words are used to express a low opinion of someone's intelligence

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dunderhead, numskull, blockhead, bonehead, lunkhead, hammerhead, knucklehead, loggerhead, muttonhead, shithead, dumbass, fuckhead

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stupid, stupid person, stupe, dullard, dolt, pudding head, pudden-head, poor fish, pillock

History

Etymology

1530, named after John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308). Scotus was ironically a well-known Scottish thinker; his followers, however, opposed the philosophers of the Renaissance, and thus "dunce" was first used to describe someone rejecting new knowledge in 1530; later, any person deemed stupid.

Across languages

Translations

48 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: ёлуп (jólup) — unintelligent person
  • Belarusian: ёлупень (jólupjenʹ) — unintelligent person
  • Crimean Tatar: cail — unintelligent person
  • Czech: tupec — unintelligent person
  • Czech: blbec — unintelligent person
  • Czech: poleno — unintelligent person
  • Esperanto: malklerulo — unintelligent person
  • Finnish: aasi — unintelligent person
  • Finnish: typerys — unintelligent person
  • Finnish: tyhmä — unintelligent person
  • French: cancre — unintelligent person
  • Galician: túzaro — unintelligent person
  • Galician: bestello — unintelligent person
  • Galician: trepeiro — unintelligent person
  • Galician: tarulo — unintelligent person
  • Galician: tamarugo — unintelligent person
  • Galician: rude — unintelligent person
  • German: Dummkopf — unintelligent person
  • German: Schwachkopf — unintelligent person
  • German: Dämel — unintelligent person
  • German: Einfaltspinsel — unintelligent person
  • German: Dummerjan — unintelligent person
  • Icelandic: tossi — unintelligent person
  • Latin: barcala — unintelligent person
  • Latin: bārō — unintelligent person
  • Macedonian: дунстер (dunster) — unintelligent person
  • Macedonian: дудук (duduk) — unintelligent person
  • Norwegian: dumrian — unintelligent person
  • Plautdietsch: Dommajon — unintelligent person
  • Polish: nieuk — unintelligent person
  • Polish: antytalent — unintelligent person
  • Russian: не́уч (néuč) — unintelligent person
  • Russian: идио́т (idiót) — unintelligent person
  • Russian: балда́ (baldá) — unintelligent person
  • Russian: остоло́п (ostolóp) — unintelligent person
  • Russian: тупи́ца (tupíca) — unintelligent person
  • Spanish: tonto de capirote — unintelligent person
  • Spanish: zopenco — unintelligent person
  • Spanish: zote — unintelligent person
  • Spanish: lelo — unintelligent person
  • Spanish: mentecato — unintelligent person
  • Spanish: faino — unintelligent person
  • Swedish: dumhuvud — unintelligent person
  • Swedish: dummerjöns — unintelligent person
  • Ottoman Turkish: طوی (toy) — unintelligent person
  • Welsh: dỳns — unintelligent person
  • Welsh: twpsyn — unintelligent person
  • Welsh: penbwl — unintelligent person