dunces

Not the brightest

Dunces is the plural of dunce, a slow learner or stupid person.

The word carries a tone of contempt or exasperation: The committee was run by dunces.

A dunce cap—the tall conical hat once used to shame struggling students—survives as a symbol of stupidity even though the practice has vanished from schools.

academic

slow learner

One grasping concepts gradually

remedialIntended to fix problems
strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
underachieverOne performing below capacity

failing · held back · tutoring · special needs · poor grades · flunking · ignoramus · blockhead · numbskull · simpleton

insult

fool

Unwise, gullible person

idiotFoolish, senseless person
moronWitless, dense person
nitwitFoolish, silly person

dolt · halfwit · bonehead · nincompoop · imbecile · buffoon · oaf · clod · lamebrain · birdbrain

historical

pointed hat

Tapered headwear with apex

shamePainful awareness of failure
humiliationLoss of dignity
ridiculeContemptuous mocking treatment

Scholasticism · medieval · public shaming · school discipline · Victorian · old-fashioned · disgrace · mockery · stigma · spectacle

comedic

stooge

Easily manipulated pawn

bumblerHabitually clumsy person
bunglerInept person
klutzAwkward, graceless person

clown · pratfall · slapstick · goofball · doofus · goof · scatterbrain · airhead · dipstick · dingbat

dunces

slow learner

fool

pointed hat

stooge

dunces

Opposites

Phrases

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