See dumb down on Wiktionary
Download JSON data for dumb down meaning in All languages combined (4.8kB)
{
"forms": [
{
"form": "dumbs down",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "dumbing down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "dumbed down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "dumbed down",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "dumb down (third-person singular simple present dumbs down, present participle dumbing down, simple past and past participle dumbed down)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "talk down to"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "write down"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "water down"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "77 23",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "74 26",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (down)",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "The public won't understand this concept. We need to dumb down our explanation of it.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To convey some subject matter in simple terms, avoiding technical or academic language, especially in a way that is considered condescending."
],
"id": "en-dumb_down-en-verb-B8j3CbSO",
"links": [
[
"convey",
"convey"
],
[
"simple",
"simple"
],
[
"technical",
"technical"
],
[
"academic",
"academic"
],
[
"condescend",
"condescend"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, transitive) To convey some subject matter in simple terms, avoiding technical or academic language, especially in a way that is considered condescending."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "92 8",
"sense": "convey subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "oversimplify"
},
{
"_dis1": "92 8",
"sense": "convey subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "simplify"
},
{
"_dis1": "92 8",
"sense": "convey subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "put in layman's terms"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"transitive"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "93 7",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "vulgariser"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 7",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "lebutít"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 7",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "semplificare"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 7",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "banalizzare"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 7",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "razžóvyvatʹ",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "разжёвывать"
},
{
"_dis1": "93 7",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "razževátʹ",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "разжева́ть"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Television has really dumbed down over the past ten years.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1995, Carl Sagan, “Science and Hope”, in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, 1st edition, New York: Random House, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 25–26",
"text": "The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudo-science and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2021 December 29, Paul Stephen, “Rail's accident investigators”, in RAIL, number 947, pages 32–33",
"text": "As the reports are written for both the industry and general public, inspectors are required to use accessible language that is free from jargon but without 'dumbing down'.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To become simpler in expression or content; to become unacceptably simplistic."
],
"id": "en-dumb_down-en-verb-EXdjOK00",
"links": [
[
"become",
"become"
],
[
"simpler",
"simpler"
],
[
"expression",
"expression"
],
[
"content",
"content"
],
[
"unacceptably",
"unacceptably"
],
[
"simplistic",
"simplistic"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, intransitive) To become simpler in expression or content; to become unacceptably simplistic."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"intransitive"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "20 80",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "otupetʹ",
"sense": "to become unacceptably simplicistic",
"word": "отупеть"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-dumb down.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/92/En-au-dumb_down.ogg/En-au-dumb_down.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/En-au-dumb_down.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "dumb down"
}
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English phrasal verbs",
"English phrasal verbs with particle (down)",
"English terms with audio links",
"English verbs"
],
"forms": [
{
"form": "dumbs down",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "dumbing down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "dumbed down",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "dumbed down",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "dumb down (third-person singular simple present dumbs down, present participle dumbing down, simple past and past participle dumbed down)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "talk down to"
},
{
"word": "write down"
},
{
"word": "water down"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with usage examples",
"English transitive verbs"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "The public won't understand this concept. We need to dumb down our explanation of it.",
"type": "example"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To convey some subject matter in simple terms, avoiding technical or academic language, especially in a way that is considered condescending."
],
"links": [
[
"convey",
"convey"
],
[
"simple",
"simple"
],
[
"technical",
"technical"
],
[
"academic",
"academic"
],
[
"condescend",
"condescend"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, transitive) To convey some subject matter in simple terms, avoiding technical or academic language, especially in a way that is considered condescending."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"transitive"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English intransitive verbs",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Television has really dumbed down over the past ten years.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1995, Carl Sagan, “Science and Hope”, in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, 1st edition, New York: Random House, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 25–26",
"text": "The dumbing down of America is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30-second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudo-science and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2021 December 29, Paul Stephen, “Rail's accident investigators”, in RAIL, number 947, pages 32–33",
"text": "As the reports are written for both the industry and general public, inspectors are required to use accessible language that is free from jargon but without 'dumbing down'.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To become simpler in expression or content; to become unacceptably simplistic."
],
"links": [
[
"become",
"become"
],
[
"simpler",
"simpler"
],
[
"expression",
"expression"
],
[
"content",
"content"
],
[
"unacceptably",
"unacceptably"
],
[
"simplistic",
"simplistic"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, intransitive) To become simpler in expression or content; to become unacceptably simplistic."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"intransitive"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-dumb down.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/92/En-au-dumb_down.ogg/En-au-dumb_down.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/En-au-dumb_down.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"sense": "convey subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "oversimplify"
},
{
"sense": "convey subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "simplify"
},
{
"sense": "convey subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "put in layman's terms"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "vulgariser"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "lebutít"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "semplificare"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"word": "banalizzare"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "razžóvyvatʹ",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "разжёвывать"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "razževátʹ",
"sense": "to convey some subject matter in simple terms",
"tags": [
"perfective"
],
"word": "разжева́ть"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "otupetʹ",
"sense": "to become unacceptably simplicistic",
"word": "отупеть"
}
],
"word": "dumb down"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.