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Difference between stupid and dumb



 
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Difference between stupid and dumb Fri Jan 07, 2005 6:13 am  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

Test No. incompl/elem-12 "We went on holiday", question 1

I expect you think I'm ......... because I don't understand that.

(a) dumb
(b) stupid
(c) deaf
(d) crazy

Test No. incompl/elem-12 "We went on holiday", answer 1

I expect you think I'm stupid because I don't understand that.

Correct answer: (b) stupid

Your answer was: correct
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what is the difference between stupid and dumb? when do you have to use stupid or dumb in your sentence?

anna, Indonesia
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Stupid/dumb Fri Jan 07, 2005 11:00 am  Stupid/dumb
 

Stupid simply means not being intelligent as in: I was very stupid this morning because I forgot to lock the front door. Dumb means literally unable to speak but is often used in conversation to mean pretending not to know as in: She's acting/keeping dumb about the matter because she doesn't want anyone to know what she knows.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:21 am  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

hello, my name is daniela and here's what i want to tell you : i solved the test with reckon and realize... (i chose reckon)when i checked my score i had 10 of 10, then i went to explanation but there it said "reckon" was incorrect.....so which one is true?
yours,
daniela
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Difference between stupid and dumb Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:17 am  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

Hi,

what is the difference between manners and habits. when do we use these two words and why?
Though I got this answer right but I am still confused.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:55 am  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

habits - reoccurring things you do
manners - good social habits
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Difference between stupid and dumb Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:59 am  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

Hi Daniela,

The test is a bit ambiguous. Both 'reckon' and 'realise' are possible, but 'reckon' here is a colloquial way to say 'presume', and it not commonly used in this way everywhere.

Cheers,

Ralf
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Stupid/dumb Tue Aug 19, 2008 20:10 pm  Stupid/dumb
 

Alan wrote:
Stupid simply means not being intelligent as in: I was very stupid this morning because I forgot to lock the front door. Dumb means literally unable to speak but is often used in conversation to mean pretending not to know as in: She's acting/keeping dumb about the matter because she doesn't want anyone to know what she knows.

As was previously mentioned, but has now seemingly disappeared, the word 'dumb' is extremely common as a synonym for 'stupid' in American English. As the test sentence stands, the word 'dumb' cannot reasonably be ruled out as a correct answer. Thus, there should either be two correct responses, or the option for 'dumb' should be replaced by something that is actually incorrect.

Or is the intention here to ban information about American English?
.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Tue Aug 19, 2008 20:18 pm  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

The information has not disappeared -- I've just moved it here.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Tue Aug 19, 2008 20:53 pm  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

Here are some samples of American usage (taken from the COCA). They were easy to find. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) more in the corpus alone:

- Is that a dumb question?
- I thought the people who supported Ronald Reagan were dumb.
- This jury is an intelligent group. These are not dumb people. These are very intelligent people.
- Surely as Tony himself says we wouldn't be dumb enough to do that.
- I don't think that consumers are as dumb as flaky activists give them credit for being.

And don't forget the movie Dumb and Dumber! Sure, they act dumb in that movie, but that's because they are dumb. The movie is about two incredibly unintelligent/stupid guys. They are both unbelievably dumb! How could anyone who's seen that movie possibly believe that the words "dumb" and "dumber" in that title do not refer to lack of intelligence?!?
.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Fri Aug 22, 2008 16:11 pm  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

Hi Torsten

As you can see in the quote below, this test tells test-takers that a correct option is incorrect.

English Grammar Test, Elementary Level #11 wrote:
Your answer was: incorrect
your sentence:
I expect you think I'm dumb because I don't understand that.

Do you need someone to provide you with a specific way to repair this test?

If you are not planning to fix this test, would you mind explaining to me why not? (I suppose I'm just too dumb to understand why any English language expert might decide to leave this test the way it is.)
.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Fri Aug 22, 2008 16:22 pm  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

Hi, Torsten and Alan

I wholeheartedly second Amy's statement. It is misleading, I'm afraid. Maybe it might make sense to add incorrect in BrE or something like that.

Alex.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Fri Aug 22, 2008 18:40 pm  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

I don't think "dumb" could be described as "incorrect in BrE". Most people would know what it meant.

"Crazy" wouldn't be so strange, either.

Suggested options: "stupid", "torpid", "deaf", "dumbfounded".

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Difference between stupid and dumb Wed Oct 08, 2008 22:32 pm  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

.
This test has not been corrected yet. Just a reminder.
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Difference between stupid and dumb Sun Oct 12, 2008 16:41 pm  Difference between stupid and dumb
 

Thanks Mr Alan for the explanation concerning the difference between stupid and dumb.
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