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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Their goal is to simplify, automate, and enable business intelligence on demand.—
Tim Bajarin,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
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His preparation can be simplified going into next year.—
Richard Deitsch,
The Athletic,
21 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Trump's remarks, which link water policy to wildfire mitigation, spotlight these issues but also draw scrutiny for oversimplifying their complexities.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
24 Jan. 2025
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While critics argue this portrayal oversimplifies the complexity that is technology and culture, there is no denying something has gone terribly wrong for adolescents since the early 2010s.—
Gemma Allen,
Forbes,
13 Oct. 2024
Verb
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For instance, Pearson’s Skills Outlook: Reclaim the Clock predicts that by 2026, automation could save educators 665,000 hours per week in the UK alone, primarily by streamlining tasks like lesson planning and maintaining current knowledge.—
Dr. Aviva Legatt,
Forbes,
21 Jan. 2025
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Accelerating clinical evidence model: Focused on expediting the availability of effective treatments by streamlining the evidence-gathering process for new drugs.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
21 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near dumb down
Cite this Entry
“Dumb down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dumb%20down. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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