Velma Dace Dinkley is a fictional character in the American television animated series Scooby-Doo. Without her glasses, she is legally blind, and she is prone to losing them. She is usually seen wearing an orange sweater.

Velma is the most intelligent in the group and often makes great use of her skills in such areas as reading Chinese or Japanese, deciphering scientific formulas, operating communications equipment, and so forth. A running gag of the series is Velma's trouble with keeping her glasses on her face (usually from being accidentally knocked off her face while being chased by the villain). In the early episode "Foul Play in Funland," Scooby becomes even more terrified than usual when Velma takes him for a "ride" in a bumper car without her glasses, as she is very nearsighted.

When Scooby and Shaggy are too afraid to volunteer for a mission (which tends to be most of the time), Velma often offers him a dog treat called a "Scooby Snack" as a bribe. Another somewhat running gag is that she is actually stronger than she appears, often able to carry Shaggy and Scooby in her arms and still be able to run. On occasions she's able to carry Daphne and Freddy too, managing to carry all four, still able to run, and mysteriously know where she is going all at the same time.

Early in the series, Velma was occasionally shown to be somewhat sharp-tongued, a disciplinarian (especially towards Shaggy and Scooby), and, rarely for this show, not afraid to physically attack a bad guy (as when she kicked villain-of-the-week The Creeper in the knee). In fewer times she plays the helpless damsel-in-distress role, similar to Daphne, such as in the episode "That's Snow Ghost," when she is kidnapped by the Snow Ghost and tied to a log heading for a buzz saw in a saw mill, only to be saved by Scooby. In the animated movie Scooby-Doo!in Where's My Mummy?she decided to disguise herself as the mummy of Queen Cleopatra to get away from the treasure hunters.

Velma is recognized by her famous orange sweater and glasses. When the gang splits up, Velma usually goes off with Fred and Daphne but sometimes goes with Scooby-Doo and Shaggy and on occasion, even by herself. As far as the group dynamic goes, Velma is usually the one who solves the mystery, while Fred sets up the trap to catch the criminal, though the earlier episodes generally show the two of them (and, at times, the entire gang working as a detective team) leapfrogging over each other to solve the mystery.

This dynamic has been exaggerated in recent portrayals to the point where Velma is the sole brain of the outfit.

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