Verblödung

August 28, 2011 5:31 PM

What does Verblödung mean in English?

Google translate says "stupefaction"; my German-speaking friend says that's not an adequate translation. What say you German-speaking MeFites?

posted by dfriedman to Grab Bag (5 answers total)

Best answer: Dumbifying. Not that that word exists. But verblöden = becoming stupid. Not in an immediate fashion like stupefaction suggests.
Watching lots of reality TV and not reading the news leads to Verblödung. (just an example, but hopefully you get the idea).
posted by ClarissaWAM at 5:56 PM on August 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Stultifying? "Stupefying" these days is used, as often as not, to refer to something that is astounding--Rendering you speechless. "Stultifying" renders you stupid.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 6:13 PM on August 28, 2011

To make stupid. You have made it (which was once not so bad) stupid.
posted by From Bklyn at 11:57 PM on August 28, 2011

Best answer: the social register of stupefaction is much higher than Verblödung, for example as an observation about a group like "the impact of watching soap operas causes a dumbing-down of a generation of viewers..." is probably the closest I can come up with.....good question..... still thinking....
posted by Wilder at 2:27 AM on August 29, 2011

I'm quite fond of dict.cc's translation: mental enfeeblement.
posted by matlock expressway at 3:54 AM on August 30, 2011