1
as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
the young genius mastered calculus while his peers, who seemed half-witted in comparison, labored over basic addition and subtraction
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in foolish
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
had the half-witted idea to try to swim across the raging river, and would have drowned if someone hadn't rescued him
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for half-witted
Adjective
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There was also, perhaps, general irritation at the idea that such a successful team should be the recipient of so much dumb luck.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
12 Oct. 2025 -
Many students have acted boldly, and occasionally made dumb mistakes, because they were outraged by historical wrongs, incendiary speakers, cultural stereotypes, or other provocations.—
Christopher L. Eisgruber,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Orús and Lizaso believe that the AI arms race is foolish.—
Vivienne Walt,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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The Eagles were undone by foolish penalties, including two flags that negated first downs on a potential go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter and one flag that extended a Broncos drive late in the game when the Eagles had forced a fourth down.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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When smart algorithms do stupid things But scratch beneath the surface, and the cracks start showing.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
8 Oct. 2025
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America has funded the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian pensions, and Ukrainian businesses during this entire stupid war that America should have nothing to do with.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But the tone swings between sour and sweet, grounded and silly, and the jokes run more broadly wacky than precise or original.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Oct. 2025
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In my eyes, much of the charm of a craft brewer is a willingness to be a little silly.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Losing is so deeply ingrained in the fabric of this franchise that every slow start has the potential to snowball.—
Matthew Fairburn,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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His administration has seen some success; inflation in Argentina eased this year to the slowest monthly pace in more than four years.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This would be an absurd show of force, and totally uncalled for during a government shutdown when members of the military cannot even get a paycheck.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Oct. 2025
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Knightley and Pearce coast and their characters never come alive and resort to doing silly things at this misfire’s absurd, regrettable finale.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Strufe adds that while intelligence agencies or cybercriminals have simpler ways to monitor people – such as accessing CCTV cameras or video doorbells – the widespread presence of wireless networks could eventually form a near-comprehensive surveillance infrastructure.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Oct. 2025
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The simplest way to find influential people in a network is called degree centrality—just count the number of connections for each person.—
Jack Murtagh,
Scientific American,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Whether these experienced hands can keep up with their mad scientists is less clear.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
14 Oct. 2025
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David’s flagship product is an almost Frankensteinian creation, more mad scientist than culinary.—
Ashley Lutz,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Half-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-witted. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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