Meaning & use
dunce cap
A tall, cone-shaped paper hat historically placed on a poorly performing student as punishment or humiliation.
See it in a sentence
In old classroom illustrations, a boy sits in the corner wearing a dunce cap.
Teachers stopped using the dunce cap once it was seen as needlessly cruel.
A note on using this word
The dunce cap is now a historical and symbolic image rather than an actual classroom practice, evoking outdated and humiliating discipline.
Words with a similar meaning
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