Meanings
plural dunces
- An unintelligent person.
[...] Dunce, / Dotard, a-dozing at the very nonce, / After a life spent training for the sight!
1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section XXX1 more example
When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.
c. 1713, Jonathan Swift, “Thoughts on Various Subjects”, in The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, volume 5Synonyms: idiot, addle-brain, addlehead, addle pate, airhead, baboon, beanbrain, beetlebrain
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn unintelligent person.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna stupid person; these words are used to express a low opinion of someone's intelligence
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Czech tupec, blbec
- tupecunintelligent person
- blbecunintelligent person
- polenounintelligent person
Esperanto malklerulo
- malklerulounintelligent person
Finnish aasi, typerys
- aasiunintelligent person
- typerysunintelligent person
- tyhmäunintelligent person
French cancre
- cancreunintelligent person
German Dummkopf, Schwachkopf
- Dummkopfunintelligent person
- Schwachkopfunintelligent person
- Dämelunintelligent person
- Einfaltspinselunintelligent person
- Dummerjanunintelligent person
Icelandic tossi
- tossiunintelligent person
Latin barcala, bārō
- barcalaunintelligent person
- bārōunintelligent person
Norwegian dumrian
- dumrianunintelligent person
Polish nieuk, antytalent
- nieukunintelligent person
- antytalentunintelligent person
Russian не́уч, идио́т
- не́уч (néuč)unintelligent person
- идио́т (idiót)unintelligent person
- балда́ (baldá)unintelligent person
- остоло́п (ostolóp)unintelligent person
- тупи́ца (tupíca)unintelligent person
Spanish tonto de capirote, zopenco
- tonto de capiroteunintelligent person
- zopencounintelligent person
- zoteunintelligent person
- lelounintelligent person
- mentecatounintelligent person
- fainounintelligent person
Swedish dumhuvud, dummerjöns
- dumhuvudunintelligent person
- dummerjönsunintelligent person
Welsh dỳns, twpsyn
- dỳnsunintelligent person
- twpsynunintelligent person
- penbwlunintelligent person
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with dunce
All rhymes →Cite this entry
dunce. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dunce
“dunce.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dunce. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dunce,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dunce.
Source: dunce on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.