as in to simplify
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Recent Examples of dumb down
The president-elect tends to avoid details—during his first term, aides learned to dumb down their presentations with bullet points.
—
Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Where there other ideas about how to dumb down Sage?
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 20 June 2024
Whoever has decided to dumb down America has done a really good job.
—Jordan Riefe, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Business Column: Red-state efforts to dumb down their universities will provoke a brain drain
May 2, 2023
GOP legislators in Wisconsin held hostage $800 million in funding for the state university and blocked all staff pay raises unless the university cut back DEI programs.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
But Jason didn’t dumb down any of his writing.
—New York Times, 15 Aug. 2022
His knack for skewering Broadway’s smash hits and for commenting on its craven tendencies to dumb down for and rip off its customers is unparalleled.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2022
Angela Merkel, chancellor when the pandemic started, holds a doctorate in quantum chemistry and refused to dumb down science while addressing the public.
—Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Feb. 2022
Yet the Biden Administration is mounting a regulatory assault on business, while progressives dumb down math and science with a woke curriculum.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022
Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Where there other ideas about how to dumb down Sage?
—Jordan Moreau, Variety, 20 June 2024
Whoever has decided to dumb down America has done a really good job.
—Jordan Riefe, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Business Column: Red-state efforts to dumb down their universities will provoke a brain drain
May 2, 2023
GOP legislators in Wisconsin held hostage $800 million in funding for the state university and blocked all staff pay raises unless the university cut back DEI programs.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
But Jason didn’t dumb down any of his writing.
—New York Times, 15 Aug. 2022
His knack for skewering Broadway’s smash hits and for commenting on its craven tendencies to dumb down for and rip off its customers is unparalleled.
—David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Apr. 2022
Angela Merkel, chancellor when the pandemic started, holds a doctorate in quantum chemistry and refused to dumb down science while addressing the public.
—Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Feb. 2022
Yet the Biden Administration is mounting a regulatory assault on business, while progressives dumb down math and science with a woke curriculum.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dumb down
Verb
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Most of Apple’s choices in the 16e seem to serve the goal of unifying the whole iPhone lineup to simplify the message for consumers and make things easier for Apple to manage efficiently, but the dropping of MagSafe is bizarre.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
7 Mar. 2025
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However, advocates on all sides of the debate have called for making sense of the myriad visa types and simplifying the system.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Other than oversimplifying the similarities or even comparing it to previous experiences, the food now is a paradox.—
Julie Kratz,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
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Many materials for ELLs can be oversimplified and unrelated to grade-level goals, especially in middle and high school classrooms.—
Ethan Stone,
USA TODAY,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The consent agenda process is meant to streamline these type of actions, according to the resolution, which was unanimously approved Feb. 24.—
Samuel Clanton,
arkansasonline.com,
10 Mar. 2025
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An obscure Chinese startup that goes by the name Monica on Wednesday announced an invite-only AI application called Manus that claims to streamline analysis of resumes and financial information using several models from companies such as OpenAI, DeepSeek and Anthropic.—
Evelyn Cheng,
CNBC,
9 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dumb down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dumb%20down. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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