dunce

/dʌns/

//dʌns// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dunce" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dunce” is uncommon English (frequency #52,912 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,912
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An unintelligent person.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dunce · dunce · English

dunce · rank #52,912 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,912
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH eba

Nearest frequency peer: eba (+3 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “dunce”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “dunce” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for dunce
PropertyValue
Headworddunce
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/dʌns/
Letters5
Frequency rank#52,912
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dunce” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).duncelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “eba” (#52,915), “droopy” (#52,908), “droit” (#52,907). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

dunce is uncommon English at frequency #52,912 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /dʌns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An unintelligent person.".

No misspelling variants are generated for dunce in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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;… The correct English form is dunce, spelled D-U-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    An unintelligent person.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dunce appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When a true genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.
  2. [...] Dunce, / Dotard, a-dozing at the very nonce, / After a life spent training for the sight!

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

cancre(Français)Dummkopf(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dunce"?
"dunce" is spelled D-U-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dʌns/.
What does "dunce" mean?
As a noun, "dunce" means: An unintelligent person.
How do you pronounce "dunce"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dunce" is /dʌns/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dunce"?
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 knowledg... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dunce", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

droit#52,907dotty#52,903elope#52,921Elvin#52,923

What to do next

You've looked up "dunce". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #52,912 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list