as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
a dingbat who was constantly firing off nonsensical letters to the editor
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Recent Examples of dingbat
The varied styles include: Arts & Crafts, Streamline Moderne, Brutalist, Art Deco, Victorian, Googie, along with ranch style homes, elegant steel and glass residences, and dingbat apartment complexes, to name a few.
—
R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Again, how can someone be so essential, so rich and, at the same time, such a dingbat?
—Daniel Vergano, Scientific American, 13 Sep. 2024
He was inspired to invent these elders by contemplating the oddly textured cinder blocks of a dingbat apartment on 6th Avenue in Venice.
—Mark Gozonsky, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2023
There are various residences currently on the project site including 10 bungalows, five dingbat apartments (the kind built over a two-car garage in sunnier states), and a single-family home across multiple lots, according to the Los Angeles Times.
—Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 9 Aug. 2023
R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Again, how can someone be so essential, so rich and, at the same time, such a dingbat?
—Daniel Vergano, Scientific American, 13 Sep. 2024
He was inspired to invent these elders by contemplating the oddly textured cinder blocks of a dingbat apartment on 6th Avenue in Venice.
—Mark Gozonsky, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2023
There are various residences currently on the project site including 10 bungalows, five dingbat apartments (the kind built over a two-car garage in sunnier states), and a single-family home across multiple lots, according to the Los Angeles Times.
—Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 9 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dingbat
Noun
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Beating these lunatics was incredible, right?—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
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That Tomás, who has already survived the Great Hunger as well as a cruel workhouse, isn’t already a lunatic is perhaps less fantastical than the plot itself at times.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Sadly, OpenAI plays us for fools.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
8 Feb. 2026
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For years, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been a wizard at designing blitzes that fool quarterbacks.—
Sam McDowell
February 5,
Kansas City Star,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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In one painfully funny sequence, a visiting gallerist (and gasbag) barely seems to care about her art, showing more interest in a goose’s nest that has materialized in an enclosure.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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And the plot is a high-drama, goose-bumpy ride that sits somewhere between Shakespearean and soap opera.—
David Lyman,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The Dilbert principle — traced back to a quote in a 1995 strip — posited that managers and higher-ups are actually successful morons whose stubbornness is confused for real leadership qualities.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
13 Jan. 2026
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Overwhelmingly, though, the most common response was to seek confirmation of their suspicions that Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were morons.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Noun
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However, unexpected and decidedly unwelcome guests keep turning up, including Beau’s brother, and a man who might be a homicidal maniac.—
Matthew J. Palm,
The Orlando Sentinel,
18 Jan. 2026
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Not the fear of an actor out of her element, or the more mundane fear of a victim being chased around by an ax-wielding maniac.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dingbat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dingbat. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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