Present participle of dumb; the act of making something or someone less intelligent or more simplified.
Present participle of the verb 'dumb,' which developed from the adjective 'dumb' in the 1600s to mean 'make stupid or simplify.'
The phrase 'dumbing down' exploded in popularity with media criticism in the 1990s, but the verb 'dumb' had existed quietly for centuries—it just needed the right cultural moment to become common.
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