1
as in stupid
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily a dog so witless that it is barely trainable

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2

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 witless But apparently, California just couldn’t abide this challenge to its primacy as the most witless state in the union. Noah Rothman, National Review, 23 Sep. 2024 How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) To borrow Jeff Bridges’s description of the magazine that Simon Pegg’s character once ran, How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is witless. Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 12 Apr. 2024 Police believed the perpetrators were the yakuza, who were irked by Itami’s portrayal of them as witless bullies outsmarted by a cunning attorney (played by Itami’s actress wife Nobuko Miyamoto, who starred in all of his films) in Minbo. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2023 Ayer does a more-than-decent job directing the action scenes, which is what matters most with such a witless genre entry. Peter Debruge, Variety, 10 Jan. 2024 See All Example Sentences for witless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for witless
Adjective
  • Thank you Hallie for thinking of me and putting my name in your stupid brother's ear.
    Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 24 Feb. 2025
  • That would have been a stupid question just about anywhere else, but the exhibition was by Laura Owens, a painter with a penchant for trickery, and the venue was Matthew Marks Gallery in New York, whose press release for Owens’s latest outing offered little in the way of explanation.
    Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Peter, though revered as an apostle worthy of veneration, is also portrayed in the Gospels as prone to mistakes, often foolish, and sometimes outright contradictory to God’s will.
    Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025
  • The notion that women should be flawless multitaskers, managing a perfect home and career while never showing vulnerability or weakness is not only unrealistic, but also foolish.
    Nicole Lipkin, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Ratajkowski has been fighting the stereotype of the dumb model from the beginning of her career.
    Daniel Jackson, Allure, 18 July 2017
  • Ninety nine percent of all NFL players are explicitly not dumb.
    Andy Benoit, The MMQB, 10 July 2017
Adjective
  • Using medieval art as one resource, Ariès pointed out that children were often portrayed as miniature adults, without special attributes, such as plump features or silly behaviors, that might mark them as fundamentally different from their older counterparts.
    Anna Mae Duane, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2025
  • This will especially appeal to the silly preschoolers in the group!
    Amanda Rock, Parents, 5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The 2024-25 Bruins are slow, short on skill, inconsistent on defense and diminished in net.
    Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 8 Mar. 2025
  • In the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev, the Russian powerhouse, has been crushing it on slow courts.
    David Hochman, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • And next year, and for years to come, through trauma and joy, this seemingly absurd ritual is going to be here.
    Edward Segarra, USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2025
  • With his absurd hair and larger-than-life persona, Trump is a walking meme.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • But with a change as simple as adding a bistro table and chairs, these cozy nooks become inviting oases to use regularly.
    Miles Walls, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Mar. 2025
  • But there's a simple—and so easy-to-remember—method that will make the packing process easy every time: the 5-4-3-2-1 method.
    Alesandra Dubin, Southern Living, 1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • While Nigerians are upset with economic conditions, most are not mad at Dangote.
    John Hyatt, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Why, for instance, is the hot middle-aged dad, Eric (Scott Foley), so incredibly mad at his 20-something daughter, Olivia (Maia Reficco), for wanting to purchase a literal villa in Italy for the whopping price of one euro?
    Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Witless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/witless. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on witless

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!