1
as in dumb
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
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
a witless decision to relocate to the other side of the country without even the prospect of a job
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
The federal government, in all its wisdom, is once again gearing up to save the witless American people from themselves.
—
Noah Rothman, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
By most accounts, Trump’s ground game—powered by the witless Musk—was a bit of a mess, but Harris’s professional field operation seems to have been helpless to stem the tide of Trump’s support.
—The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for witless
Noah Rothman, National Review, 3 Jan. 2025
By most accounts, Trump’s ground game—powered by the witless Musk—was a bit of a mess, but Harris’s professional field operation seems to have been helpless to stem the tide of Trump’s support.
—The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for witless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for witless
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
-
Instead, the series seems determined to prove that age is just a number by forcing its leads, now including Choudhury and Parker, to act as if 50 is the new (and very stupid) 30.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
-
Jurassic Park, based on the Michael Crichton best-seller, is an evolutionary joke: Man, the master of the universe, has become mere flesh, consumed by animals allegedly too stupid to survive.—
David Denby,
Vulture,
3 July 2025
Adjective
-
The whales often appear unbothered, turning gently toward swimmers or drifting by in slow, graceful passes.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
5 July 2025
-
Forecasters at the National Weather Service said there was the potential for additional catastrophic flooding and heavy rainfall in the region throughout Saturday, given the storm’s slow craw across the state.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
5 July 2025
Adjective
-
Underestimating China would be a grave error, but underestimating the United States would be equally foolish.—
Damien Ma,
Foreign Affairs,
1 July 2025
-
Gi-hun himself proved a tough protagonist to root for when the show began, as a foolish gambling addict hoping to reconnect with his family but who becomes obsessed with the games anyway.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
Nearby is the kitchen, which is compact and simple as standard.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
11 July 2025
-
Chris wore a simple navy blue polo shirt and khaki shorts combo, while Alexa showed off her growing bump in a white and blue floral dress — along with an Olympic logo necklace to complete her maternity style.—
Kayla Grant,
People.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
One of Netflix’s big movie plays for July is the sequel to its very silly but very fun action fantasy film The Old Guard.—
Abid Rahman,
HollywoodReporter,
1 July 2025
-
None of that, however, excuses the silly and juvenile behavior of the Assembly’s majority Democrats last week when the chamber took up a resolution commemorating Pride month.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
Consequently, many of those enslaved in Texas remained ignorant of the proclamation’s potential impact on their lives, or of the fact the Civil War had functionally ended two months earlier.—
Timothy Welbeck,
The Conversation,
16 June 2025
-
Careless or ignorant reporting has obscured objective reality.—
Nicholas DiMarzio,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2025
Adjective
-
From the vantage point of 2025, this appears as absurd as suggesting that women’s soccer matches should be 70 minutes instead of 90, the same as in the men’s game.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
12 July 2025
-
The French super powerhouse has taken teams part since winning the UEFA Champions League crown on May 24, outscoring its foes by an absurd 21-1 margin.—
Michael Lewis,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Witless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/witless. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share