nincompoop
noun
nin·com·poop
ˈnin-kəm-ˌpüp 
ˈniŋ-
plural nincompoops
informal
nincompoopery
ˈnin-kəm-ˌpü-pə-rē
noun
ˈniŋ-
Each day's news seems to bring ever more horrific stories of greed, incompetence, arrogance, excess, deceit … and inconceivable nincompoopery …
—
The Hightower Lowdown
The Hightower Lowdown
Examples of nincompoop in a Sentence
The people running that company are a bunch of nincompoops!
quit acting like a nincompoop, because I know you are smarter than that
Recent Examples on the Web
Everyone in the imperium knows the emperor is a nincompoop—and yet no one wants to go out on a limb to criticize him.
—Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Korda has declared that, because his nine sons are, frankly, nincompoops and rapscallions, Liesl will be the sole heir to his fortune.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
Paired alongside Williams and Dunst’s airheads, Ferrell plays a nincompoop Bob Woodward, but the role doesn’t give him much of a chance to cut loose.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Being a nature nincompoop may have saved him from a grisly fate.
—Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2025
As Jimmy, the chief pushover, Jimmy, Norman makes for a sympathetic enough nincompoop.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Only one police officer pops up there, a smiley nincompoop who sucks down children’s birthday cake from behind a desk and shrugs his way through conversation.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
Somebody else could have gotten away with doing half as much, but Ruffalo proves a compound nincompoop.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
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Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2025
Korda has declared that, because his nine sons are, frankly, nincompoops and rapscallions, Liesl will be the sole heir to his fortune.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
Paired alongside Williams and Dunst’s airheads, Ferrell plays a nincompoop Bob Woodward, but the role doesn’t give him much of a chance to cut loose.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 4 Feb. 2025
Being a nature nincompoop may have saved him from a grisly fate.
—Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Jan. 2025
As Jimmy, the chief pushover, Jimmy, Norman makes for a sympathetic enough nincompoop.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Only one police officer pops up there, a smiley nincompoop who sucks down children’s birthday cake from behind a desk and shrugs his way through conversation.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 11 Mar. 2024
Somebody else could have gotten away with doing half as much, but Ruffalo proves a compound nincompoop.
—Wesley Morris, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Nincompoop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nincompoop. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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