nitwit

noun

ˈnit-ˌwit How to pronounce nitwit (audio)
Definition of nitwitnext
1
as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment don't be a nitwit—wear a seat belt!

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in idiot
a stupid person an absolute nitwit as far as geography is concerned

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in fool
a silly flighty person a nitwit who never should have been given a position of responsibility in the company

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of nitwit Occasionally, some nitwit will play chicken with the offending lane changer, get in front of him or her, and stop the car in the middle of the road to continue with verbal and nonverbal critique of the offender’s driving skills. — Oc Register, 18 May 2026 In each show, the two nitwits would set out on some caper, which would inevitably go horribly wrong, leaving them broke, or tied up, or in jail, or hanging over a cliff, or some other situation of great peril. — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026 The plot involves risqué photos of someone in the royal family being used as collateral, and poor Terry and his nitwit crew were tricked into trying to steal these from the bank instead of money. — Mike Ryan, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2025 The white supremacist rally that interrupted the mayor's lunch in Howell on Saturday wasn't overly impressive, really — just a dozen or so nitwits, and one ghost. — Neal Rubin, Detroit Free Press, 25 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nitwit
  1. lunatic
  2. moron
  3. fool
  4. goose
  5. stupid
  6. ditz
  7. maniac
  8. silly
Noun
  • While sane Americans were celebrating the MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, the lunatics in Portland, Oregon were cheering along as two men made out on a baseball field during a 'Heated Rivalry' theme night.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 July 2026
  • As a Spurs fan, I was particularly invested in Campbell in an England shirt and recall charging around the living room like a lunatic before the reality that it had been chalked off hit home.
    — The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 18 June 2026
Definition of lunatic
Noun
  • God help us all if some idiot, some moron, ever put you in charge.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 18 July 2026
  • Mantzoukas was willing to look like a maniac and a moron in equal measure.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 June 2026
Definition of moron
Noun
  • There was simply no reason to try to match that; and Bogaerts would have been a fool not to accept it.
    — Dan Freedman, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • And coming back with a movie that has anywhere near the impact of No Way Home’s untoppable uniting of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Holland would seem a fool’s errand.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 28 July 2026
Definition of fool
Noun
  • They were provided by a speedy and adventurous black squirrel, who spent the better part of an inning on and around the playing field and at one point led an army of ground crew members on a wild goose — uh, squirrel — chase in right field.
    — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2026
  • The shows featured a continuous storyline surrounding her string of black pearls being lost and found, sending her on a goose chase that began with The Nanny and continued into Can’t Hurry Love, Murphy Brown and High Society.
    — Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026
Definition of goose
Noun
  • My dad has always said the lottery is a tax on the stupid.
    — Alex Crippen, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Problem is, even people who know baseball don’t know baseball, which makes betting on baseball stupid.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2026
Definition of stupid
Noun
  • There’s a tramp, a ditz, a bad boss, a hippie, a by-the-book good girl.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Rather than stay pigeonholed as a ditz, Simpson (who just released new music for the first time in 15 years) went on to launch her own fashion brand, which hit $1 billion in sales in 2015 and is still going strong today.
    — EW Staff, EW.com, 20 Mar. 2025
Definition of ditz
Noun
  • Unbeknownst to the visitors, there’s an unhappy fifth party already in the house… and more than one homicidal maniac even within that small populace.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 July 2026
  • The odd thing about this choice is that, although the DSA’s platform is indeed chock-full of maniacal proposals, on this particular idea, the maniacs have a point.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026
Definition of maniac
Noun
  • It was shot in portrait because it was shot in Instagram by and for a woman who was losing her mind in quarantine and had fully let the sillies take the wheel.
    — Ego Nwodim, TIME, 12 Feb. 2025
  • Some more sillies from last night’s GRAMMY nominees reception.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 4 Feb. 2025
Definition of silly

Browse Nearby Words

nitty-gritty
nitwit
nitwits
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Cite this Entry

“Nitwit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nitwit. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of nitwit for Spanish Speakers

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