as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily
a product with a warning label that even the most boneheaded consumer should be able to understand
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Recent Examples of boneheaded
Why sane people don’t run for office, a boneheaded move from an Arizona lawmaker and fallout from a Minnesota shooting.
—
Joanna Allhands, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025
But despite the intelligence upgrade, some have spotted the AI model still making boneheaded mistakes.
—PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
Unfortunately for Leslie, Gary is terrible at poker, and his boneheaded bet during the relationship test leaves them in the bottom three.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Joanna Allhands, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025
But despite the intelligence upgrade, some have spotted the AI model still making boneheaded mistakes.
—PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025
Unfortunately for Leslie, Gary is terrible at poker, and his boneheaded bet during the relationship test leaves them in the bottom three.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boneheaded
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
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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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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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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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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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That thick sole relieves pressure and pain, especially pain associated with conditions like plantar fasciitis.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Oct. 2025
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The smoke was thick enough to cast its own shadows upon the hill.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
8 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
Cite this Entry
“Boneheaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boneheaded. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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