half-witted

adjective

Definition of half-wittednext
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
  1. dumb
  2. foolish
  3. stupid
  4. silly
  5. slow
  6. absurd
  7. simple
  8. mad
Adjective
  • That’s why we are drawn to do some of the dumber stuff when things get to their darkest.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 31 July 2026
  • Mandylor is equally hilarious as a dumb thug who is so deserving of becoming shark bait.
    — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 30 July 2026
Definition of dumb
Adjective
  • Drawing definitive conclusions from pre-season is foolish — but Lacey has shown his close control, pace, and scored an excellent goal in the previous friendly against Rosenborg.
    — Cerys Jones, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Johnson continued this week to push for his foolish and counterproductive desire to impose a $33-per-month tax on each Chicago job generated by the city’s largest private-sector employers.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2026
Definition of foolish
Adjective
  • The case that American leadership in this technology carries a genuine security dimension has never looked stupid to me.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The women are in stupid costumes (Heather Gay is dressed as a leprechaun at one point) and yelling at one another for yet-unknown reasons.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of stupid
Adjective
  • Every season of Strange New Worlds has featured at least one episode that emphasizes Star Trek’s silly side (and this may not be the last such outing in season four).
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The silly yellow fruit that became a part of their culture was freighted, from the start, with suggestive meaning.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of silly
Adjective
  • Researchers used the device to process time-series data, including signals that contained both rapid and slow changes.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 8 Aug. 2026
  • However, there is another, slower and more insidious evacuation taking place, and that is the steady migration from rural areas all around the world to burgeoning cities, which now host more than half the world’s population.
    — John Vaillant, Time, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • The show explores the darkly absurd side of modern-day male friendship.
    — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Just absurd, and all happening in his first full season in the majors.
    — Matt Piper, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of absurd
Adjective
  • Abernathy Greenway Park walk with Trees Atlanta Take a walk through the park with a Trees Atlanta docent, who will teach simple tricks for telling trees apart and share stories about why trees are important and how to protect them.
    — Mary Caldwell, AJC.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The Oldest Person in the World takes an ostensibly simple premise and explores its deeper resonance.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of simple
Adjective
  • There was also a stream of characters who visited the island, from a pop group to a movie producer, a mad scientist, and Russian cosmonauts.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026
  • There are a few pages spent on Deflategate (that made Brady mad), only a few paragraphs devoted to Aaron Hernandez, none on Spygate.
    — Darren Cooper, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of mad
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.

Browse Nearby Words

half-wits
half-witted
half-wittedness
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Cite this Entry

“Half-witted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/half-witted. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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