Definitions

1. noun

a person who is stupid or foolish, typically because of a lack of education or intelligence

“The teacher had to deal with a lot of dunce in her class, who couldn’t even solve basic math problems.”

2. noun

a wooden or metal block with a handle, formerly used to sit on in school, especially in a classroom where the dunce cap is placed on the block to shame the student

“The old classroom still had a dunce, where the teacher would sit students who misbehaved.”

3. verb

to treat (someone) as a dunce, typically by humiliating them in front of others

“The coach was known to dunce his players who performed poorly in a game.”